Love is Blind
by TMadison
Summary: A/U-Based in Season 3- Betty made a mistake. Daniel made a mistake. As they attempt to make things right, they just make a bigger mess of things. When tragedy strikes, lives will be changed, possibly forever.
1. Chapter 1

**LOVE IS BLIND**

Author's Note: It's time for a new story. I hope that I live up to your expectations. The feedback for my last story was amazing. You have no idea what your feedback means to me.

Summary: This is an A/U, set in Season 3. The chapter begins during Dress for Success, when the Halston dress goes missing. In this story, there will be some similarities to Season 3…but mostly, I'm going to be writing it. Without giving away too much, I'll will say that some things that **don't** happen…well, change everything.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

This wasn't the first time that Betty had made a big mess since she had begun working at MODE two years ago. Almost every time, she had managed to find a way to fix it. In many cases, she even had managed to make it better than originally planned.

With the way this conference call was going, Betty feared that there may be no way of coming back from this colossal mistake that she had created.

The atrocious look in Wilhelmina's eyes told Betty that the illustrious Co-Editor in Chief was on the verge of beheading Betty right there in the conference room, the second that the call with the editors of ELLE was over. Silently, Betty wondered if anyone would notice if she slipped out, went directly to the airport and went to stay in Mexico with her family, until this all blew over.

But that would be a cowardly reaction. Betty had been through too much at MODE to run away from her mistakes. She just need to bravely face it, just like she had faced every other challenge presented to her since she walked into these offices. After all, Betty deserved the backlash from this disaster.

Betty didn't know what bothered her more; the fact that she had ruined the Keira Knightley cover or that she had let Daniel down. Daniel was so much more than a boss to her. He was a friend that she cared about. Just that fact alone, made Betty realize that she would do anything to make this right and to earn Daniel's trust once again.

So, instead of running away, Betty stood behind Daniel and Wilhelmina. Daniel was doing everything that he could to reason with Elle. His attempts were unsuccessful and then suddenly, the call was disconnected and the screen went black.

Betty saw Daniel's shoulders sink; a sign that he felt defeated by the unsuccessful attempt to retrieve the valuable dress for the shoot. Betty could still remember what Daniel had told her about how difficult it had been to pull this shoot together. She also recalled the faith that he had put in her that she could handle this task for him.

Wilhelmina spun around in her chair. Her eyes fixed on Betty. For a split second, Betty could have swore that she saw Wilhelmina's eyes flash a glowing red. "I could murder someone right now."

"Come on. It was a mistake." Daniel gazed down at the table. His disappointed tone was making Betty feel even worse. In fact, it was breaking her heart that she was the source of pain. "We'll just have to figure something else out."

"People that make mistakes like this do not belong in this business." Wilhelmina bolted from her seat and Betty quickly moved past her to take the chair beside Daniel.

"Daniel, I feel terrible. I'm sorry." Betty said apologetically.

"If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I...just should had an editor handle it." Daniel begins to collect his things. "I should have never trusted you with something like this."

"Give me another chance. I can make this right. I promise. I'll call the collector..." Betty's heart pounded.

"And give you another chance to make another mistake . Mistakes that this magazine can not afford." Wilhelmina said coldly. "We are going to have to let you go."

"What?" Daniel looked over at Wilhelmina. He stood quickly. "No..."

"Daniel, we were just discussing trimming the fat around here this morning...in my office." Wilhelmina said cryptically. "Betty is the perfect place to start."

"Wilhelmina..." Daniel stood up. His mood had change from one of disappointment to one of disappointment. "We weren't talking about Betty."

"Betty, collect your things. Security will escort you out. After all, we want to make sure that you don't slip any more secrets to our competitors." Wilhelmina turned toward Marc. "Marc, help her clean out her desk."

"Betty isn't going anywhere." Daniel said bluntly. "She made a mistake. We all have..."

"No...Daniel, she's right. I messed up and I have to pay for the consequences." Betty reached for Daniel. "I'll just get my things and leave."

* * *

Daniel did everything in this power to delay getting back to his office. He stopped in the men's room. He got a drink of water. He was avoiding going back to his office because he knew that he wouldn't be able to handle seeing Betty pack up her desk, while Marc and a member of the Meade security team watched over her like she was a thief.

Betty wasn't a thief. She just made a mistake, just like he had made a million mistakes since he began working at MODE. In fact, it was thanks to Betty that he was even still here. Without her, he didn't know where he would be.

If not for her, he would be a useless womanizer that drank too much and had no sense of responsibility. It was because of her that he had become the man that he was today. Without her, he would be lost.

It was true that Daniel was disappointed about the mistake that she had made. The fact is that he was too hard on her. He wished he could go back and retract some of his harsh words and they could work together to find a solution.

It didn't appear that was going to be possible. Wilhelmina had her own dirt on him. The meeting had not been about the budget. They had been about the security footage of him and Molly in The Closet, the night they almost kissed. Daniel's first instincts told him that she was lying when she said that the DVD that she gave him was the only copy. He know realize that Wilhelmina was now using that footage as her way of taking control of the magazine.

So...he had made his own mistakes and now Betty was going to pay for it. Why couldn't he just be a man and stand up and tell Wilhelmina to go to hell...and that Betty wasn't going anywhere?

Because the truth was, Daniel could still help Betty, even if she didn't work at MODE. Or at least, he hoped.

If the DVD was released, it would affect Meade Publications, Molly and himself. Not to mention, ruining a friendship that he had since his freshman year at Harvard. Daniel knew he should have listened to his mother and stayed away from Molly.

Why did he always have to want what he could never have? Though Molly was a nice woman, was she worth him losing the best friend that he had ever had? Was it worth losing Betty?

Daniel didn't even want to ponder what life was going to be like at MODE without Betty. As soon as he could talk to his mother, he was going to find another job for her at Meade Publications. Without MODE or a job in publishing, she would lose her spot with YETI and her chance to make her dreams of owning her own magazines someday, go down the drain.

There was no way that Daniel was going to let that happen. In fact, the more he thought about it and realized how much Betty had at stake, the more angry that Daniel became.

Sure. She had made a mistake but she didn't deserve this.

Daniel knew he needed to hurry. He couldn't let Betty get away. He needed her and he couldn't be here without him. They could come up with a new concept for the cover but there could never be a new Betty. If she wasn't going to be at MODE, neither did he. They were a team. Together, they could even come up with a plan to deal with Wilhelmina.

As Daniel rounded the corner, he nearly ran into someone. He stopped abruptly, stepping backwards. "Molly..."

"Daniel, I think we need to talk." Molly said directly. "I don't have long because I have to get back to school."

Daniel looked past her to see Betty, putting her pink bunny inside the box. Betty looked up and saw him there. The look on Betty's face broke his heart.

He brought his attention back to Molly. "I really don't have time to deal with this right now. I'm sorry."

"You were the one that wanted to talk about this morning. I just wanted to tell you that I can't..."

"Molly, you don't need to say anything. It was a mistake and it should have never happened. You are with Connor...and I'm with someone else."

"Really...oh..." Molly let out a sigh.

Daniel looked past Molly again to see Betty, being led away. "Betty..."

Molly turned toward Daniel's office. "Betty?"

"Yes...Betty."

"She's your girlfriend."

"Betty, my girlfriend? Uh...yes." Daniel didn't know what to say. "Listen, I have to go fix something right now. I'll see you later."

Daniel left Molly and started toward the elevators. He hoped that he would be able to catch up with them and stop her from leaving the building.

PLEASE REVIEW.


	2. Chapter 2

**LOVE IS BLIND**

**CHAPTER TWO**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback. I really appreciate your support._

_Disclaimer: No, I still don't owe Ugly Betty._

* * *

With fifty gift bags littering the floor of the Suarez living room, Betty helped Hilda fill them for the party that was being held tonight for the reopening of Hilda's Beautilities Plus. After all, it wasn't like she had anything else to do. She was now unemployed.

"I can't believe that Daniel fired you." Hilda placed a few bottles into a purple gift bag.

"Daniel didn't fire me. Wilhelmina did." Betty's heart ached, just thinking relive those moments again.

"So, Daniel didn't fire you?" Hilda repeated. "You work for him, not Wilhelmina."

"It really doesn't matter. She is still Co-Editor in Chief. And anyway,I screwed up," said Betty. "It's probably better this way."

"I can't believe you are saying this. What happened to my sister? The one that was so focused on her career that she has been too busy to help me with this party." Hilda wove her hand in the air at the decorations that had been hung the night before, while she had learned how to network from Marc and Amanda. Not to mention, while she was making the biggest mistake of her career and letting Daniel down.

"Hilda, you don't understand. You didn't hear how disappointed Daniel was in me. I really let him down." Betty took the scissors and curled that was tied to gift bag.

"Did he try to stop Wilhelmina?" Hilda asked inquisitively. "Or at least, try to defend you."

"Of course, he did." Betty shook her head. "But...she was right. There is no room in the magazine business for someone who makes mistakes."

"If that were the case, Daniel should have been out on his butt a long time ago," said Hilda. "You are reason that he still has a job. He would be nothing without you."

"Hilda, I just can't even look at him without seeing how disappointed he is in me. I can't handle that. Since I started working for Daniel, he has changed. He works so hard...and no one gives him enough credit. There is no way that I can ever make up for this. He worked really hard on that shoot. It was nearly impossible to get that dress." Betty tosses the gift bag aside and covers her face.

How she wished she could thing of a way to make this better? There was nothing that she wouldn't do to make it up to him if she could.

"You want to know what I think, Betty?"

"Not really..." Betty placed her head down on the table in defeat.

"Well, tough because you are going to hear it anyway. Betty, you have got to try. Otherwise, you will regret it for the rest of your life." Hilda moved towards Betty. "I know you might not think so but Daniel obviously didn't want you to lose your job. Like you said, he defended you to Wilhelmina and that tells me that the has some faith in you Why don't you go talk to him...oh...or better yet, invite him to the party tonight? I know that would really help the salon."

"Hilda..." Betty lifted her face.

"Fine...Whatever" Hilda help up her hand in surrender. "Just go talk to him and do it today, because the last thing I need is you turning my party, into your pity party."

"I'll talk to him but I'm just going to give him a little time. He's leaving in the morning for a two-week vacation in St. Bart's anyway. Daniel won't be needing me. I'll deal with it when he gets back," said Betty.

"You are so frustrating. Just go..." Hilda gestures towards the door.

"I thought you needed help with the party," said Betty.

"I think you need to talk to Daniel more. You can't leave it like this for two weeks. Betty, he is so much more than a boss. He's one of your closest friends."

"Okay...okay. I'll go but it's probably going to make things worse," said Betty. She heard the door bell ring.

"Now, please answer the door and then get out of here...before I go down there myself and straighten this out. I might even have to pay a visit to that horrible assistant from ELLE that caused this whole mess. Show her how we deal with things in Queens."

"Stop. I don't need you to fight my battles for me." Betty rose from her chair and started toward the door. "I'm going and I promise I'll take care of it." Betty shook her head, knowing that there wasn't anything that she could do. She also knew that Hilda wouldn't let up until she tried though.

When Betty reached the door, she opened it to find Daniel standing there with his hands in his pockets and an apologetic expression.

"Daniel...what...what are you doing here?"

"You know why I'm here." He moved past her.

"Gee...why don't you just make yourself at home?" She said in response to his slightly arrogant tone.

"Look. I'm sorry that I was so hard on you, Betty."

"It's okay. You have every right to be disappointed in me." Betty took her eyes away from his. It was just too hard to look in his eyes because when she did, she saw something that she couldn't describe.

"I could never be disappointed in you, Betty." Daniel stepped forward and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"You sure had me fooled back at the office."

"I know. I said things that I didn't mean. I mean, even when you make mistakes, you always have this magical way of making things better. If it weren't for you cleaning up all my mistakes, I probably wouldn't be where I am today."

"That's what I said," Hilda shouted from the other room.

Daniel grinned and Betty rolled her eyes. "Do you mind, Hilda? This is a private conversation."

Hilda walked into the living room with a box full of gift bags. "Well, you want privacy. I suggest that the two of you take it somewhere private. I have a party to get ready for."

"Okay...okay." Betty shut the door, grabbed Daniel's hand and pulled him up the stairs behind her.

When they reached her bedroom, she closed the door and she started walking toward the bed, where the box she had brought home sat, still packed. She stared down into it. "Daniel, I can't tell you how sorry..."

"Betty, I need you." She felt Daniel's hands rest on the side of her arms. He was so close that she couldn't breathe. In fact, she was pretty sure that her heart stopped.

"What?" Betty knew that he couldn't have possibly meant it the way he made it sounded.

She wanted to turn around but she couldn't. She was frozen in place.

"The entire way over here, I kept thinking about how we could put you at another magazine, but I know that would be wrong, I need you to continue being my assistant. I don't want to be at MODE without you," said Daniel. "We will find a solution to make up for the missing dress. I just know that I won't be able to do that without you."

"What about Wilhelmina?" Betty asked.

"I'll deal with Wilhelmina. Just please say that you'll come back to me." Daniel asked, as his hands rested on her waist.

"Don't you mean..." Betty chuckled nervously. "Don't you mean...MODE."

"Uh...yes...and no, actually." He whispered cryptically. "I need you with me at MODE. Please come back."

Betty took a deep breath and gathered the courage to turn around and face him. "Daniel..."

"Please Betty. You are my best friend and I really need you now. I'm not going to let something like a dress be the reason that I lose you forever." Daniel said sincerely. "You are worth far more than that stupid dress."

Betty nodded, as she remembered her previous thoughts about how she would do anything to help him. "Okay."

"Good." Daniel's eyes lit up.

"So...what do we do now?" Betty asked awkwardly. _Where would they start? Should they call Keira's publicist and see if they could make other arrangements?_

"First, I'm going to take you to Wilhelmina's party tonight to make up for today...and to also show Wilhelmina that she doesn't get to make all the decisions," said Daniel.

"Daniel, you know that assistants aren't invited."

He laughed. "Betty, you are going to be my date tonight."

"Wow...what a..." Betty's mind spun with the networking possibilities that would be opened to her, just by attending one of Wilhelmina's parties.

"Great opportunity for YETI." Daniel said, completing her sentence.

"I don't know what to say." Betty suddenly remembered that there was no way that she could go. She had to stay here and help with Hilda's party. "Wait. I can't. I have to help Hilda with her party."

"Well, Wilhelmina's party doesn't start until a bit later. We could make an appearance at Hilda's party and then go to Wilhelmina's." Daniel suggested. "It'll be fun."

"What about the photo shoot?" Betty asked.

"Don't worry about that. We'll figure it out." Daniel grinned. "Together."

**PLEASE REVIEW****.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Love is Blind**

_**Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreciate it**_**. **

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Daniel couldn't describe the joy and relief that he felt when Betty had agreed to be his date for this evening for three reasons. The first and most important one was that he just wanted to spend time with her and hope that he could show her that he still trusted her and that he still had faith in her. The second reason was to re-enforce Molly's earlier assumption that Betty was the woman that he was dating. And the third and last reason was to have Betty by his side was that it would keep him from following through with Wilhelmina's suggestion that he use tonight's party as an opportunity to talk to Molly about his feelings.

And there was no way that was going to happen. He needed to bring a prompt end to this little crush that he had developed on Molly because the more that Daniel thought about it, the more Daniel realized that the almost kiss with Molly was a mistake. She was no only unavailable. She was engaged to his long time friend, pursuing Molly reeked of nothing but disaster. It was clear now that Wilhelmina had not been sincere when she said that she wouldn't use Daniel and Molly's indiscretion against him.

Almost losing Betty was proof of that.

And Daniel wasn't going to let Wilhelmina hurt Betty by firing her because of a mistake that he had made, even if it meant that sooner or later, he would have to face the music with Connor. He would do it.

Now, as Daniel stood at the bottom of the staircase. He waited for Betty and watched all the guests begin to arrive for Hilda's party. He gazed down at his watch and began to wonder if Betty had changed her mind. After all, she had been upstairs for a long time. It had been three hours since Daniel had brought several dresses and shoes from MODE for her to pick from. When he arrived with them, Justin had grabbed them and Betty and took off up the stairs.

That was three hours ago.

He had been back to his loft, changed his clothes and returned to Queens. Betty's father said that she hadn't been down in all that time. The only sign that Betty was even up their was occasional screams that could be heard throughout the house. Hilda had gone in occasionally but no one else had been allowed in. The last time, Hilda had come downstairs. Daniel had asked what was taking so long. Her reply was that if she told him, she would have kill him. It seemed like her and Justin were on some top-secret mission.

Daniel adjusted his tie, anxiously. Why was he so nervous? It seemed like the longer she made him wait, the more nervous that he got.

"Wiener?" Hilda walked up beside him.

"Excuse me?" He looked at her strangely.

"Cocktail wiener." She helped up a tray of cocktail wieners.

"No thanks." He chuckled. "Do you think it is going to be longer?"

"A few minutes." Hilda handed off the tray to her father, as he walked by.

"I was starting to think she had changed her mind and had crawled out the window." Daniel admitted.

"No...but she is a little puzzled about why you asked her to go to the party," said Hilda. "In fact, I am a bit puzzled myself. So...spill it. What is the real reason that you are talking my sister to this party?"

Daniel knew there was no way that he could tell Hilda the truth. After all, he hasn't even had the guts to tell Betty what he had done. Probably because he knew what her reaction would be- the judgmental look that she always gave him when he had done something wrong.

"It's a good opportunity for her. Plus, I really want to make up for being a jerk. Anyway, she has been my plus one for lots of things." Daniel knew that it was true but again, it wasn't the truth. He just hoped that Hilda couldn't see through that.

"But you said that she wasn't going as your assistant. She was your date tonight." Hilda said. "I heard you myself."

"Betty and I were alone when I told her that." Daniel narrowed his eyes.

"The walls are really thin." Hilda looked into the living room.

"I don't believe you. You were the one that told us to take our conversation somewhere private." Daniel laughed.

"Okay, Fine. I was listening at the door," Hilda confessed. "Are you sure that there isn't more? I mean, you seemed pretty determined to get her back. Maybe, you have a little crush on her."

"Hilda, I really care about Betty." Daniel looked over at her and there was that same judgmental look on Hilda's face that Betty was famous for.

Then, Hilda smiled and playfully shoved him. "I'm just messing with you, Daniel."

Daniel relaxed, a bit. "Oh..." He tried to laugh.

Then, Hilda's expression turned serious. "But...I'm telling you now. If you hurt her, you won't have to worry about your title of New York's Most Eligible Bachelor. Am I clear?"

"Crystal." Daniel swallowed hard, as he looked directly at Hilda.

"Daniel..." He heard Betty's voice.

Daniel gazed upwards. Betty stood there on the landing of the staircase and she looked beautiful. She had chosen the royal blue strapless cocktail dress (which he took from The Closet because it was her size and it made his eyes pop. He had steer clear of all the red dresses for obvious reasons.) Her dark hair cascaded over her shoulder. Her eyebrows were groomed and her make up wasn't overdone. Her red frames on her face and trademark necklace draped around her neck.

It was unbelievable to Daniel that this was the same young woman who had been his assistant for two years. He moved forward and reached up to help her down the stairs. "Betty, you look gorgeous."

"Thank you." She looked down at her dress, almost like she thought it was a dream and it was going to disappear before her eyes. She took his hand and he guided her down the three stairs. "You look very nice too."

Hilda was grinning from ear to ear. She pushed Daniel out-of-the-way and hugged Betty enthusiastically. "I agree. She looks so beautiful." Over Betty's shoulder, Hilda shot Daniel another look that warned Daniel that he better not hurt Betty.

Finally, Hilda let go of Betty and returned to her party guests, leaving them alone. For a moment, they both stood there in silence.

"I guess we better we better go and circulate. I know that a few people that Hilda wants you to meet." Betty said timidly, as she finally lifted her eyes to his. "We probably don't have much time before we have to leave for Wilhelmina's."

"Yeah." He couldn't help but stare at how radiant she looked. He looked he up and down. "Wow...did I tell you that you looked gorgeous, Betty?"

Betty's giggled. "Yes. You did." Her eyes danced as she laughed.

Daniel grinned, as he took in her metamorphosis. "Well, you do. I like the blue dress. It's perfect."

"Well, I picked it because I knew it would make your eyes pop." Betty said playfully.

He glanced down at her cleavage. "Oh...yeah. It sure does. Who knew? You've covered up such amazing boobs all this time."

"Daniel..." Her eyes widened and her cheeks were pink.

"I meant the color." She rolled her eyes and laughed. "You know, there is something called sexual harassment."

"I think that only applies if you are on the clock. Tonight, you are not my employee. You are my date."

"Always trying to find a way around things, you are unbelievable." Betty smiled brightly.

"So are you, Betty. I'm really lucky to have such an amazing friend like you." Daniel felt his face grow warm now. Never in his life, could he remember this happening. "Thank you for being my date tonight."

"You're Welcome." Betty smile but then it quickly faded. "I'm just..."

"Just what?" Daniel could tell that she was anxious about this evening. "You can tell me anything."

"I'm just kinda afraid of seeing Wilhelmina after what happened today," said Betty. "Are you sure about this? I mean...we don't have to go. I can stay here. I'm sure you can find someone else." Betty's eyes started to search the crowd. "Oh...there's a blonde over there and she's looks interested in you.. She's pretty. I'm sure that she would love to go with you. You might even get lucky."

"I already got lucky…when you agreed to be my date." Daniel looked directly in her eyes. "If you think that I'm going to let you stay home looking as amazing as you do now, you are out of your mind. I want to show you off. And, don't worry about Wilhelmina. I'll protect you from the evil witch."

He added. "And that blonde is out of luck. I'm already with the most beautiful woman the room." He offered his arm to her proudly. For a moment, she just stared at him. "Let's go."

"Okay." Betty took a deep breath, as she took his arm and he escorted her into the party.

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	4. Chapter 4

**Love Is Blind**

Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I love to see what you are thinking about the story as it processes. We aren't quite at the party yet...but we are getting there.

**Chapter Four**

Though Daniel was one of her closest friend, Betty had to admit that when he first asked her to attend the party tonight, as his date. She was extremely skeptical. After all, why would he take her when he could take anyone? There wasn't a woman (well, except for the ones that he never called back in his man-whore days.) that wouldn't want to be his date.

Of course, he had told her that it was because he wanted to make up for being a jerk and making her think that he had lost all faith in her. She believed him but something inside told her there was more to it.

And maybe that is why it took her over three hours to get ready, she was a nervous wreck. When she woke up this morning, the last thing she thought was that tonight she would be getting ready to go on a date with one of the city's most eligible bachelors.

Of course, that changed. As the night progressed, Betty felt the nervousness that she felt slip away as she finally began to see how charming Daniel really was. Maybe, he wasn't the perfect Prince Charming like in the story books that her mother used to read her when she was a little girl.

But everything he said to her, the way he looked at her was perfect. He made her feel special. It was magic.

Now, they were on their way to a Wilhelmina Slater party in the most expensive dress that she had ever worn in her life as Daniel's date.

This night was so surreal that Betty had to wonder if she was dreaming, she had already pinched herself twice, just so that she could believe it was real.

Betty felt the car come to a stop and the driver got out of the car. She glanced over at Daniel. "Why are we stopping? Aren't we already late for Wilhelmina's party?"

"We'll get there. I just wanted to make one other stop first." Daniel grinned. "After all, this night isn't all about Wilhelmina."

The driver opened Betty's car door. They both got out of the car. Daniel met Betty on the other side. He took her hand and told the driver to return for them to pick them up in about 45 minutes.

The driver nodded and then quickly got into the car and drove away. Betty gazed over at Daniel, as they started to walk toward the bridge. For a while, they walked in silence. A few minutes into their stroll, Daniel reached over and took her hand in his.

"I didn't think that you remembered." Betty took in the lights of the city.

"Well, I did." Daniel grinned. "I figured it would be a nice touch to visit the sight of our first date…on our second."

"Daniel, that wasn't a date. That was karaoke and pizza." Betty wondered how far she was going to get in the shoes. They were killing her feet already. She didn't say anything though. She knew that Daniel was trying to be sweet by bringing her here and she didn't want to spoil it.

"Of course, it was a date. In fact, I think it was the best one that I ever had." Daniel said sincerely. "Too bad I was too stupid to see how great you were back then. I should have started dating you then."

"Oh…like that would have ever happened."

"You make it sound impossible," said Daniel. "Betty, I admit it. I was stupid…but I don't believe that it was impossible."

"Your father hired me because he knew that I wouldn't sleep with you." Betty hated to ruin the moment and mention it but there was no escaping the truth. "He hired me because I wasn't…" Betty stopped herself.

Daniel grinned. "Beautiful. Betty, you are beautiful."

"You don't have to say that." Betty pulled her hand away. She suddenly realized that she was sinking into dangerous territory. She couldn't afford to get reeled in because tomorrow, she would wake up and all things would be the way there were this morning. If she allowed herself to fall for his charms, she would be broken-hearted.

"Actually, I do." He stopped walking and gazed at her.

"You are just trying to make me feel better about what happened today. The dress…the party…" Betty started for the railing. "It's all wonderful but it's not real." She looked out over the water. "Tomorrow…you will be you….and I'll just be back to being me. I'll just be the woman who brings you your coffee every morning."

Daniel moved in behind her, brushing the side of her arms. "It doesn't have to be like that, Betty."

"What do you mean?" Betty's knees felt weak.

"I'm trying to say that I've spent so much time chasing all these women that I can't have…or that are all wrong for me, when I should have spent time with the woman that make me feel like I'm worth something and one that I love being around."

Betty turned around and faced him. He had her pinned between his body and the bridge railing. "Daniel…this is crazy. You can't have feelings for me."

"I know I feel something for you." He admitted. "I care about you very much, Betty. When I watched you leave MODE today, it did something to me that I can't even explain. I just knew that I couldn't let you walk out of my life."

"I'm going to be your assistant. I told you that I would."

"Listen, I know that you probably think I'm crazy right now….and I can't blame you." Daniel sighed. "Look…I can't make any promise to you about happily ever after. I don't know where this is going to lead. It could be a disaster. I know that we owe it to ourselves to try."

"What if we mess up and hurt each other? Then we really will lose each other." Betty hated to point out. "And I can't stand the thought of losing you. You have no idea how hard it was for me walk out of Meade today, feeling like I had disappointed you. There wasn't anything I would have done….and still isn't anything I wouldn't do, to make it up to you."

"Then go away with me tomorrow." Daniel said spontaneously.

"To St. Bart's?" Betty knew that Daniel had lost his mind. "For two weeks."

Daniel chuckled. "Yes. Betty, just think about it. It'll be perfect. We will have some much fun together. You can even have your own room. I promise I'm not expecting anything."

"Daniel, I don't know. This is all so sudden. What is everyone going to say when they find out we went off together for two weeks?"

"Who cares what they say? I don't," said Daniel. "Just promise me, you will think about it. I'll even put my trip off for a day, if you need time to pack."

He added. "I can't think of a better way of getting to really know each other than to spent two weeks on the beach, laughing and having fun together. No pressures of the people at MODE. No paparazzi breathing down our necks and getting in the middle of everything. _Just you and me._ You don't even need to look at it as more than two friends spending time together, if you don't' want to."

Her first instinct was telling her to tell him that they could skip the party and head straight of the airport. After all, what woman in their right mind would say no to two weeks in a tropical locale with a handsome bachelor? Not to mention, a bachelor that was her best friend.

And how often did she ever do anything truly impulsive in her life? She didn't even go on the trip to Rome with Gio…or accept Henry's out-of-the-blue proposal. Why shouldn't she take the leap, if Daniel offering the possibility of something more? The way he was looking at her now was giving her butterflies and her heart was racing, there might be something to this and Betty knew then that Daniel was right. They should explore the possibilities together.

But she wasn't going to tell him yes…right now. She wanted to get through tonight and then at the end of the night, she would tell him that she would get on that plane with him in the morning for two heavenly weeks.

"I'm going to need to think about it. I'll give you an answer tonight. I just don't want to rush into anything."

"That's fair." Daniel leaned forward and placed a kiss on her cheek. She shivered; unsure if it was the chill of the wind or the kiss that caused it. "Are you cold?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I can't believe I forgot my jacket.

Daniel immediately started to peel off his jacket. "Here you can have mine."

"Daniel, no! I'll be fine."

"I don't need you catching your death. Besides, I have long sleeves on and you don't have anything around your shoulders." Daniel helped her into the jacket.

Betty smiled and she shifted from foot to foot. The heels were started to kill her feet literally. How can people walk any normal distance in these? It was murder. "Thank you, Daniel."

Daniel looked down at her feet. "Your feet hurt."

"No." Total lie and she knew it.

"You are lying." Daniel laughed. "I knew I should have thought twice about this little walk."

"Daniel, it was sweet. I'm having a great time. And my feet are fine…"

"Nice try." Daniel scooped her up off her feet.

"Daniel, let me down. I'm way too heavy." She squirmed a bit, kicking her feet. "Let me down now."

"You are not." Daniel chuckled. "Stop moving…otherwise, I might drop you and then instead of going to the party, I'll have to take you to the emergency room. And that is the last place that I want us to end up tonight."

Betty did what he said and stopped squirming. He was right. The last thing she wanted was for him to drop her either, especially since that would mean missing the party and the looks on everyone's faces when they found out that she was Daniel's date.

As he carried her back down towards where the car was going to meet them, Betty knew that she was already dangerously close to falling in love with her boss and her best friend.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you so much for the feedback and comments. I love all your theories. I will say that this is an A/U, so something that happened in the series will not happen in this story. _

**Chapter Five**

* * *

From the moment that Daniel and Betty walked into the party, Betty's eyes lit up in wonderment. Everything was gorgeous. The people. The food. The music. There was no details that had been left unattended. He could see that Betty was taking in every single bit of it.

Everyone who was anyone in publishing was there and it was Daniel's mission to connect Betty with the right people that would help her on her path to obtaining everything she ever dreamed of.

"Oh…Daniel. I can't believe you just introduced me to Anna Wintour." Betty leaned over and whispered. "She makes Wilhelmina look like tame."

"Well, you actually seemed to won her over and believe me that is an accomplishment. I saw Jodie looked your way when you were talking to Anna. I think she was impressed." Daniel grinned, as he reveled in how great it felt to have Betty on his arm tonight. He also knew he would never forget the look on Wilhelmina's face when he found out that Betty was his date.

And even better was that they had managed to make it through the night without any awkward interactions with Molly and Connor. In fact, Daniel hadn't seen them in the last twenty minutes, which meant that they probably had left by now.

"I think Jodie was more impressed that I was here with you. She looked like she wanted to devour you like one of those delicious spicy shrimp she couldn't get enough of."

"She can't have me." Daniel grinned playfully. He moved a little closer. "I thought I made that clear earlier."

"Uh…I think I need some air." Betty said somewhat breathlessly.

"Okay." Daniel reached for her hand and guided her out to the balcony to get some air. Daniel was thankful for the quiet time away from the bustling party.

"This is great. I'm having a wonderful time I almost hate to see it end."

"It doesn't have to end, Betty. Have you given any more thought to our earlier discussion?"

Betty moved closer to him but her eyes didn't meet his. "I want to go away with you but…"

"But…what?" Daniel rested his hand on the curve of her waist.

"I'm scared." Betty's eyes met his. "This is all so fast. This morning, I was getting your breakfast and making your appointments. Now, you want me to go to St. Bart's with you for two weeks."

"Are you saying that you don't feel anything for me?" Daniel knew that there was more to his reasons. Right now, that didn't seem important at all. Molly was a distant memory now and the only woman he wanted was the one that he was with now.

After all, his crush on Molly was meaningless in comparison to what he was beginning to feel for Betty? It was like someone had given him new eyes and all he could see was his future with her. How could he have been so blind to it before today?

Daniel knew he was getting way ahead of himself though. He knew that rushing off to St. Bart's was impulsive. He knew Betty didn't do impulsive things like that. Maybe, he was a fool to ask for so much so fast.

"I didn't say that." Betty spoke cautiously.

"So you do." Daniel smiled, as he stared at her lips. He wanted to kiss her so badly now.

Then, someone stepped out of the shadows and was headed for the door. Daniel turned to see that it was Molly

"Molly." Betty smiled. "I…didn't know you were out here."

"Yeah. I just had to get some air. It was getting kind of hot in there." Molly wiped her eyes. "Anyway, I think I'm going to go. You both have a good night."

"Have you been crying?" Betty moved away from Daniel and started towards Molly.

"No." Molly gazed directly at Daniel. "I'm fine. Thank you but I need to go home."

"What happened? Do you want me to go find Connor?" Betty offered graciously. "I'll be happy to."

"Thank you for your kindness, Betty. The truth is I could really care less about what Connor is doing," said Molly.

"What happened?" Daniel stepped forward.

"I found him and Wilhelmina together in her bedroom, kissing." Molly said plainly. Her eyes stared directly into Daniel's. It was as if Molly was trying to tell him something, without actually saying it. "Connor left earlier after we had our fight. I've just been hiding out here until I found the chance to make a dash for the door."

"Why did you fight?" Betty looked over at Daniel. "I mean, I thought that everything was great. The two of you always seem so happy together."

"Things aren't always as they seem, Betty. Honesty, I just want to go home now." Molly took a glimpse in the window at the crowd that was starting to thin out.

"We'll take you home." Betty offered. "Right, Daniel?

"Sure." Daniel nodded, even though he knew that this was a bad idea. The best thing he could do for Molly was get her a cab and send her back to her apartment. That seemed too cruel though. After all, Daniel had a feeling that he was partly at fault for the night's events.

Now, that all the cards were on the table. It was clear that Wilhelmina had wanted Connor all along. She had used him and his actions to try to get rid of Betty, break of Connor and Molly and get all the power she wanted at MODE. They were all just pawns in Wilhelmina's game.

A few minutes later, the three had swiftly made their exit from the party. The whole way down to the lobby, the elevator was filled with silence. Daniel didn't know what to say; as he stood between the women he almost kissed a few days earlier and the woman he wanted to kiss for the first time before they were interrupted.

When the elevator door opened, Betty stepped out and then quickly turned. "Oh no! I forgot my purse."

"I'll go get it." Daniel offered swiftly.

Betty smiled at him and reached for his hand. "Daniel, don't be crazy. I'll just run back upstairs. We have to wait for the town car anyway."

"We can just go with you." Daniel tried to get back on the elevator.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Betty pushed him off the elevator and then pressed the button for Wilhelmina's floor. Daniel watched her until the doors closed.

Daniel turned towards the exit. "The car will be here in a few minutes." There was no missing the awkwardness that hung in the air, as he and Molly started toward the exit.

"Thank you for giving me a ride home," said Molly.

"I guess it's the least that I can do….all things considered." Daniel said regrettably, as they reached stepped outside of the building.

"Why didn't you tell me that Wilhelmina had a DVD copy of what happened between us?" Molly asked.

"I just found out and she told me that she gave me the only copy." Daniel looked down the sidewalk, trying to keep his distance from Molly. He sunk his hand in his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone, reading the text from his driver who said that he was a few minutes away.

"Apparently not." She shook her head, as she moved closer. He started down the sidewalk, trying to stay away from her. "Daniel, we really need to talk about what happened between us."

"There is no us, Molly. I'm sorry but what happened was a mistake. I'm with…"

"You are with Betty." Molly finished. "I don't believe that for several reasons. The first being that I heard her say that she as shocked that you were suddenly showing interest in her. I predict that you are only brought her with you tonight because you were trying to cover up that you do feel something for me."

Molly continued. "In fact, I'm not really sorry that Connor found out about what happened because I was going to call things off with him. That's what I came to talk to you about this morning. I was going to tell you that I have feelings for you too."

"I told you that I'm with Betty."

"Betty is a sweet girl and I don't doubt that you two are extremely close but even I know that she's not your girlfriend, Daniel. If she were, you wouldn't have tried to kiss me. I know you would never hurt her like that." Molly moved forward and wrapped her arms around his neck before he had a chance to move away. "Just admit it and we can move forward."

"Molly….I…" Before he could finish, Molly kissed him.

"Oh God!" Daniel heard he could manage to pull away. He turned towards the entrance of the building and saw Betty standing there. Then, she took off down the sidewalk as fast as she could.

"Betty…" He pulled away from Molly. Actually, shoving her away was more like it. "Betty, stop."

"Leave me alone, Daniel. I don't want to hear what you have to say." Betty began to cut between two cars, trying to cross the street to escape him. He could hear the tears in her voice. The light down the block had changed to red; causing the oncoming traffic to stop.

"Betty, stop…don't..." He was getting closer to her, as she started across the street.

Betty stopped in the middle of the street and looked at him. His eyes met hers. In that moment, he could see the hurt there and there was nothing more that he wanted to do than take it away.

Just then, Daniel saw the headlights of a car tear around the corner. The black car was going at full speed and showing no sign of slowing down.

"Betty...watch out." Daniel took off, running as fast as he could. Just as the car was about to reach her, he pushed her out-of-the-way of the speeding car.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the comments and feedback. I appreciate it._

**Chapter Six**

* * *

When Betty opened her eyes, she found herself lying face down on the side of the street, in-between two cars. One of the last things that she remembered was the headlights of the on-coming car and Daniel's frantic screams for her to get out of the way.

She was frozen in place though, unable to move forward or go backwards The next thing she remembered was Daniel's hand on her back, pushing her forward forcefully.

"Daniel." She turned her head and murmured, expecting that Daniel would be right there beside her. But he wasn't there.

"Miss….are you okay?" A man suddenly appeared at her side, kneeling down to see if she was okay.

"Daniel…where's Daniel?" Betty's eyes lifted to see the stranger.

"If you mean the man that saved you, he's…." He stopped himself. "They are calling 911 now."

Betty was overcome with a sense of dread. "What happened to Daniel?" She forced herself up and was suddenly aware of the chaotic scene that had unfolded in a short amount of time. In the distance, she could hear the sound of emergency vehicles making the way to the scene.

"You need to stay here until the paramedics arrive. You could be seriously injured. They need to check you out first." The man tried to keep her from moving seeing the entire accident scene.

As she took in the whole scene, she felt like she had been kicked in the stomach when her eyes fell on Daniel, lying there motionless in the middle of the road. His face was hidden from her view, as a man and a woman knelt beside Daniel's body.

The man pulled her back. "I wouldn't do that. It's not pretty."

She pulled away. She had to get to Daniel. "I have too." Tears began to stream down her scratched-up face, causing her wounds to sting.

Even if he had kissed Molly, that was his choice. Even if he had broken her heart, he didn't deserve this.

She finally reached him. When she was close enough to see his face, she was horrified what she saw. There was blood streaming down his face from his impact. There was shattered glass spread across the pavement. It was obvious that he had made contact with the windshield of the speeding car.

"That car?" Betty whispered to the blonde woman that was using her silk scarf to apply pressure to Daniel's head. Betty could see from here that Daniel was breathing. Now, if he would just open his eyes and look at her

"The car didn't even slow down. You owe your life to him. He saved you….poor guy."

Betty broke down, sobbing. She leaned down over him. "Daniel…wake up." She leaned her head against his chest and listened to his heart. The woman backed away, as Betty held the scarf over his gushing wound.

This was all her fault. Why did she have to run from him? Daniel was laying here like this because of her.

"You have to wake up." She hunched over and whisper in his ear. "I love you, Daniel. I just want you to be okay." Right now, Betty didn't even care why Daniel had been kissing Molly. It wasn't important at all. Nothing was more important than seeing his blue eyes again. She needed her friend back.

And if that was the only way that she could have him, she would take it. Several of her tears ran down her face and onto his blood stained cheek, as she prayed that he would pull through this.

"I love you." Betty said softly. "We are supposed to go away. Remember, you asked me to go? You promised that we were going to have such a good time. I was going to say yes. We are supposed to on a plane in the morning. We can't go if you don't wake up."

By the looks of Daniel's injuries, it was clear that Daniel wouldn't be going anywhere for a long time, that is if he ever woke up.

Then, the paramedics arrived and they pulled her away. "No…I want to go with him."

"You need to be treated too. You can see your…" The female paramedic led her away from Daniel, so that the remaining crew could get him the medical attention that he desperately needed

"Boyfriend…" Betty didn't know if that title even fit right now after everything that had occurred in the last fifteen minutes. Then, it occurred to Betty that even as his girlfriend, they still might not let her in to see him. "Actually, he just asked me to marry him."

It was a lie but right now, as they helped her into the back of an ambulance and was seated on a stretcher. She didn't care. She just wanted to be Daniel's side, whether it was a friend or more. If it took a small lie to get there, she would do it.

"I don't see a ring." The female paramedic looked down at Betty's hand.

"Uh…" Betty knew she had to think fast. "Oh no….it must have slipped off my finger. It was loose. I was going to get it resized. I…."

"Relax." The woman said reassuringly. "I'll have someone go look for it. It's probably not far. I'll be right back."

Betty nodded, as she watched the woman leave. She felt horrible that they were going to search for a non-existent ring. In the distance, Betty looked out the back of the ambulance to see Molly hailing a cab near the entrance of Wilhelmina's building.

In Betty's mind, she wonders if she misjudged what had happened. What if Molly kissed Daniel…not the other way around? After all, he had been so sweet the whole night. He had asked her to go away with him. Why would he do that if he was interested in someone else?

Molly though. She was in a vulnerable place. Perhaps, she took Daniel's kindness the wrong way.

This made Betty feel even worse. She should have faced this head on. Running away was not the answer and now Daniel might pay with his life.

About ten minutes past, the woman comes back to the ambulance. "I'm sorry. I couldn't find it."

"Don't worry about it." Betty said in almost a whisper. "I just want to go be with Daniel."

"You can meet him there. They left about five minutes ago. I'm sorry but his injuries are very severe."

The ride to the hospital seemed like an eternity. Once she got there, she was bandaged up and released with just a few scratches and bruises. The once elegant designer cocktail dress was now torn and tattered, beyond repair.

It had been almost two and half hours since Daniel had arrived. Betty had thought that by the time that she was treated and released, that they would know something.

There was still no news and they still wouldn't allow her to see him. It was making her more nervous with every minute that ticked by. Well, she was determined. She was not going to leave the hospital until she heard something…and even then, she was already convinced that she wasn't leaving the hospital until Daniel did. Or maybe not until he was 100% better.

After all, she owed him her life. If he hadn't pushed her out of the way, she would be the one laying in that hospital bed, unconscious.

"Betty…"

Betty gazed down the hall to see Hilda, her father and Claire, coming down the hall as fast as their feet would carry them. She managed to stand, even though her whole body ached. She wished that she would have asked Hilda to bring her something else to wear.

"Are you okay?" Hilda engulfed her in a hug.

"I'm sorry to ruin your party." Betty said apologetically.

"Don't worry about the party. Are you okay?" Ignacio placed his on Betty's shoulder.

"Thanks to Daniel. I am." Betty could feel the tears threating once again when she looked over at Claire.

"Anything on Daniel?" Claire asked.

Betty shook her head regrettably. "Nothing."

"I'll be right back, dear. I'll see what I can find out," said Claire.

"Thank you." Betty whispered, as Claire made her way toward the nurse's station.

"Are you sure you are okay? We should take you home," said Ignacio.

"I can't leave him, Papi. He saved my life but…" Betty took her eyes away. Her guilt was churning inside.

"I'm sure that he's going to be fine," said Hilda reassuringly.

"This is my fault." Betty lifted her eyes to Hilda's. "It was horrible. There was blood everywhere. He wouldn't wake up. I just wanted him to open his eyes and look at me."

"You can't blame yourself. It was an accident." Ignacio said supportively.

Claire appeared beside the group with a somber expression. "Daniel's awake."

"Can I see him?" Betty wiped a tear away.

"He's asking for you, dear." Claire said reassuringly. "But the doctors are asking that we wait until they run a few tests to determine the extent of the damage and they get him moved into a room." Betty could tell that Claire was trying her best to keep a handle on her emotions.

Right now, the words "extent of the damage" made Betty's heart hurt ten times worse than when she saw him and Molly kissing.

"There is something else. Isn't there?" Betty asked, closing her eyes tight.

"I'm afraid so." Claire looked down at her shaking hands.

"Please tell me." Betty couldn't bare it anymore.

"They don't know if it is going to be temporary or permanent…"

"What might be temporary or permanent?" Betty's heart pounded and she felt sick to her stomach.

"He's lost his eye sight." Claire said seriously.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for your feedback and comments. I appreciate it. I know that it's a sad situation but have some faith._

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

When Daniel woke up this afternoon, he was unsure how long he had been in the hospital, due to the drugs they had given him to deal with all the pain that he was in from his injuries. His mother told him that he had been here for four days.

Daniel would have no idea about that. His memories from those four days only consisted of a series of blurs, as he drifted in and out of his drug induced state; the murmurs of doctors that talked that spoke with his mothers and the nurses that attended to him.

How frustrating it was to see nothing but a bunch of blurs move around him? Not being able to identify anyone, except his mother, who he only recognized from the sound of her Christian Louboutin shoes on the hard tile floor of the hospital room.

As far as Daniel knew, there had been no other visitors, especially the one visitor that he needed more than any others.

Betty.

With each moment, he was starting to wonder whether something was wrong with her. He still could barely believe it when they told him that he had saved her life.

What was Betty doing in the middle of the road anyway?

But the key word that rang in his mind was the word, saved. Daniel was really worried that even though, he might have saved her that night. It didn't mean that she wasn't as bad off as he was or worse.

He just wanted to hear her friend's voice. When he heard her voice, he knew that he could relax. All he wanted was some piece of mind that Betty was really safe.

He heard the tell-tale clicking of his mother's heels enter the room. "Mom."

"Yes."

"Where is Betty?" Daniel turned his head slightly, even though it felt like torture to do so. He knew he should call the nurse for more pain medication but he was tired of being so drugged out that he didn't know what was going on around him.

Daniel heard his mother take the seat beside his bed, just as she did most of the time he had been there. When she couldn't be there, she had brought in a private nurse, who sat on the corner and never said a word to him, even when he talked to her. There were also times when his mother was there that the nurse still stayed there. It was something that Daniel was getting tired of. He didn't need a babysitter.

"Uh…She's fine, dear."

"Mom, I don't believe you." Daniel could sense that something was wrong, just by the tone of his mother's voice. He could tell that she was placating him.

"Daniel, Betty is fine. She's been here…in fact; she has been here so much that I made her go home and get some rest. I told her that you wouldn't want her to hinder her own recovery because she was here, getting no rest. You need to rest as well."

"I want to see….I mean…" Daniel knew that wasn't possible. In fact, he couldn't see anything.

"You are going to get your sight back." Her mother took his hand. "The doctors said that this is probably temporary."

"Probably….I still can't see anything. It's been days" Daniel said heatedly. "How am I supposed to manage like this? I can't exactly do my job at MODE."

"You need to focus on your recovery and let me worry about MODE. Your nurse Bet…Beatriz will help you once you leave the hospital and until you get your sight back."

"Well, she won't even talk to me. She just sits in the corner and lets the hospital nurses do the work," said Daniel.

"She is going to have her work cut out for her when you get out of here," said Claire. "Anyway, she comes very highly recommend"

"Well, a sponge bath would be great." Daniel said plainly.

"I'll talk to her. I'm sure that she's just a little nervous," said Claire. "She's used to working with babies in her previous line of work...oh wait; you are being a baby now."

"Give me a break. I just want to go home. I'm tired. I'm in pain," said Daniel. "I can't see."

"At least, you aren't totally blind. You will get your sight back. The doctor is very confident about that," said Claire.

"If I get my sight back." Daniel gently shook his head.

"Daniel, be reasonable." Claire said sternly.

"I might as well face it. I can't see. I can't remember anything that happened and no one is answering my questions about Betty."

"Still don't remember anything?" Claire asked.

"The last thing I remember was Betty bringing my coffee at the office that morning," said Daniel. He also remembered his meeting with Wilhelmina about his and Molly's almost kiss in The Closet. A subject that Daniel knew better than to bring up around his mother, he knew what her feelings were on that situation. "Can you call her and ask her to come here, please?"

"I'm sure that she will be here very soon. In fact, I'm sure that she is closer than you can even imagine." Claire said plainly.

"What happened that night?"

"You saved her. We've told you that." Claire said.

"Why was she in the middle of the street?" Daniel asked.

"That's between you and Betty.

What was that supposed to mean? Daniel didn't know but he tried hard to remember something.

"You know why, don't you?" Daniel asked.

"Yes…but it's not for me to discuss," said Claire. "It's for the two of you to sort out. I am not going to interfere."

"You love to interfere. The one time that I ask you a question…"

"Betty doesn't want me to and I am going to respect that," said Claire.

"Did we fight? I probably said something stupid….or worse, did something stupid. Why is it so hard to remember?" He tried hard search his memories but came up with nothing.

"Getting hit by a car will do that." Claire squeezed his hand. "You just get some rest. I'm sure that Betty will visit when she is ready too."

"I hope so. I don't think that I'll feel any relief until hear her voice…so I know that she really is okay." Daniel took a deep breath.

Across the room, Daniel heard something hit the floor, followed by footsteps rushing out of the room. "What was that?"

"It's the nurse. Ahh…listen. I'm going to go get some coffee and see I'll try to get through to Betty…I mean, try to call Betty."

"Thank you." Just that bit of hope, put Daniel at ease. He just wanted to touch her and make sure that she was okay and not somewhere in this hospital. He knew that if he could just do that. He would be able to know that the price that he paid was worth it, even if the consequences were devastating.

As he listened to his mother walk out of the room, Daniel just laid there. A few minutes later, he heard the sound of heels on the hospital floor.

"Mom!" He should see the blur of someone in the doorway.

"It's…me…Molly." The figure moved forward and took the seat beside his bed.

"Molly…" Daniel really wasn't in the mood for visitors.

"Daniel, I just came to see how you were doing and see if there was anything that I could do for you." Molly asked.

"If you can get my sight back, that would be great." Daniel said plainly.

"I'm sorry to hear. I'm sure that this is just temporary. You'll be good as new in no time," said Molly.

"I hope so but I don't know we'll see." He tried not to sound as hopeless as he felt. "Just tell Connor not to let Wilhelmina take over."

"I don't really talk to Connor anymore."

"Why?"

"We broke up the night of your accident," said Molly. "You don't remember?"

"I'm sorry. I don't remember anything. I'm sorry to hear that I know that must be difficult," said Daniel.

"He found out about us," said Molly.

"Oh…So…it's over." That was just Daniel's luck. Now Molly was available and he was blind. Just what she would want to deal with, the only thing he would be to her is a burden. Not the best way to start a new relationship. "Just like that."

Daniel felt guilty for his part in their break up. His actions were inexcusable.

"Yes. He's moved on with Wilhelmina and I probably should too. Life goes on." Molly sounded hopeful.

"It does." Daniel agreed even though he had no idea how his life was even going to work from now on and what his life would be like.

"You know, Daniel. I would be happy to help you with anything you need after you get out of the hospital." He felt Molly take his hand. "I know that what you are going through has to be very difficult and I used to work with the blind back in Chicago. Maybe…I could help you."

Though, he was touched by Molly's offer. "We'll see…." He started to decline but figured it would be better just to leave it open for now.

"No…I can't do this..." He heard a voice near the doorway; a voice that he recognized as Betty.

"Betty…" Daniel felt his heart skip. He had never been so relieved to her voice in his life.

"Go ahead, Betty. You know that he's been asking for you for days," said Claire. "Molly, I think we should leave Daniel and Betty alone, so they can talk."

"Daniel, you need your rest," said Betty. Daniel could hear Betty's voice trembling. "I'll come back later.

"Come here." Daniel motioned for Betty to come towards him.

"I'll see you later, Daniel. Let me know if you need my help," said Molly.

"Thank you, Molly. Right now, I just need Betty to get over here."

Few minutes later, Daniel heard the door to his room close. The room was filled with silence.

"Come closer please." He wanted to reach out for her but he was restricted with all the wires and IV's that were attached to him.

He heard her sit down in the chair beside his bed. "Do you need anything? Water?"

"I just need you to come closer," said Daniel. He just wanted to touch her so he could know that she was really okay.

She came to rest on the edge of the bed. He was overcome with a feeling of comfort as she rested her hand in his.

PLEASE REVIEW.


	8. Chapter 8

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for your feedback and comments. Sorry for the slight delay in this chapter. School and real life tend to get in the way of my writing from time to time. (If it were up to me, I would write 24 hr/7 week...LOL) I appreicate every one of you and the comments that you leave mean so much to me. _

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

For the past four days and nights, Betty had spent her time in the uncomfortable chair in the far corner of Daniel's hospital room. During the day, Betty sat and researched blindness on her laptop that Claire had brought her from MODE. She was adamant about finding the best ways to help him and though, she hoped they wouldn't need them; she researched long-term plans for him such as learning braille.

At night, she tried to sleep but found it impossible, most of the time. She was lucky, if she got two hours of sleep. In the hours that she found herself wide awake, she would often watch him sleep. A few times, she even heard him call her name in his sleep, and it gave her some hope that he really meant the things he said to her on the bridge and that Molly situation was a misunderstanding. She wasn't going to force the issue though. Mostly because she was afraid of her heart being broken further.

Most of all, she had to help him get through this. Her heart wasn't even the most important thing now. Daniel was.

After all, she was the one that stepped into the street, causing him to rush to her aid and putting himself in danger for her. He didn't even think twice about the consequences of his actions. He was only thinking about her.

It was her fault that he was lying in this hospital bed, bandaged, battered, bruised and blind. Now, her focus was going to be on him for however long it took because she owed him her life.

After days of silence on her part, she knew she couldn't run anymore, as Betty started down at her hand, as it rested in his. Her mind was screaming for her to say something but her fear kept her from doing it. She just knew that trying to talk would result in tears. And the last thing, she needed was him to know she was crying.

"Betty, please say something."

"I can't…" She whispered.

Daniel's hand left hers and reached for the remote that controlled the hospital bed. It wasn't there. She could see the frustration on Daniel's face but Betty knew that was where it was usually located.

Betty reached down and grabbed the remote that was hanging from the side of the bed, placing it within his reach. Finally, he was able to grab it. After a few attempts, he found the button he needed and brought himself into a sitting position.

"Do you need me to get your another pillow? I can go to your loft and get your good pillows. I know these have to be really uncomfortable for you. These are kind of flat." Betty offered, as he reached for her hand again.

"I just need you right now, Betty." His voice was shaky, emotional. It sounded like he was on the verge of tears himself.

Then, Betty's heart sped up as the light touch of Daniel's hand traveled up her arm, over her shoulder to her neck. Finally, his hand caressed her cheek. Betty knew that she was incapable of speaking, as she tried hard to fight the tears. Daniel might have been touching her cheek but he might, as well, have been holding her heart.

"Are you are okay?" He asked her.

She still couldn't speak as her lip started to quiver, threatening to give her give away her emotional state. Betty could only manage to nod.

"What took you so long to get here?" He asked.

She wanted to tell him that she had been right here all along. She had sitting in the corner, pretending to be his private nurse; which wasn't really far from the true. Claire had agreed that Betty would temporarily help Daniel; instead of returning to MODE.

Betty also wanted to tell Daniel the funny story about how the doctors had thought she was his fiancée and the surprised look on his mother's face, when she heard the news from one of the nurses on duty. Of course as far as anyone else was concerned, Betty was Daniel's fiancée; so that she could stay with him. Claire had asked the doctors and nurses not to mention Betty until Daniel's memory returned; as to not confuse him. It was another reason that Claire had a kept a limited amount of visitors in to see him. Betty had to wonder how Molly had even managed to get past the nurses at all.

And Betty also wanted to tell him that she loved him but she knew that this would only complicate matters more with her heart and his.

A runaway tear escaped her eye and ran down her cheek, landing on Daniel's thumb. "Betty… are you hurt? Is that why it took you so long to get here?"

"No….I just had a few bruises and scratches. I'm…." More tears fell down her cheek.

"What's wrong?" His voice told Betty that he was more concern about her than himself. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm okay….but you aren't." Betty leaned into Daniel's hand, as he kept it in place on her cheek. "I'm crying because I'm so sorry for what happened."

"I'm getting better now that you are here. I don't even want to tell you how afraid I was when you didn't come to see me. My mind kept coming up with all kind of terrible things," said Daniel.

"I've been here." Betty told him. There was no point in lying to him about it because sooner or later, Betty knew she would tell him anyway.

"Mom told me. I just wish you were here when I was not drugged out of my mind," Daniel wiped a tear away from her cheek.

"No…I've been here since the night of the accident. With the exception of going home to take a shower a few times, I've been here the whole time," said Betty. "In the corner….and sometimes late at night, I would sit beside your bed."

"Beatriz?" Daniel seemed to put the pieces together now. "I guess I should have figured that out…but why didn't you say anything? I knew my mom was keeping something from me."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't know what to say to you. Daniel, I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I'm totally responsible. If I hadn't run away, you wouldn't have had to save me in the first place."

"I know that it sucks, Betty. I would do anything to look in your eyes right now." Daniel took her hands. "But just knowing that you are alive is the most important thing to me. You are so much more than an assistant to me. I don't know what I would do without you."

She knew that Daniel meant it. "Yes. I know. You….uh…you mean so much to me, Daniel. I can't begin to even tell you how much really…" Betty reached inside of herself and found the courage to do what she knew she had to do. She took a deep breath. "And because of you, I'm sitting here today….so; I'm going to do everything I can to help you until you get your sight back."

"Betty, I don't think we should get our hopes up about that." Daniel said sadly. It was a sadness that cut directly through to Betty's heart.

"No…I'm not going to let you give up, Daniel." Betty could tell that Daniel was getting tired from all the excitement.

"I'm not giving up. I'm just accepting my new reality." Daniel took a deep breath. "I don't think one of your pep talks is going to be able to fix this."

Betty couldn't accept that. She wanted to argue but she knew that now was not the time. She could tell that Daniel was in pain and that he needed his rest. "Whatever. This is not over though. I don't care what you say."

"Betty…"

"Don't Betty me. We'll talk about this later but you need your rest." Betty said sternly.

"Fine, Ms. Bossy….but will you do me a favor?" For the first time since the accident, Daniel smiled.

"What?" Her hands still entwined with Daniel's.

"Will you please go home and get some sleep?" Daniel asked her.

"It's kind of late for me leave. I'll just stay here tonight." Betty knew that her apartment was only fifteen minutes away and she could even take the town car that Claire had put at Betty's disposal anytime she needed it.

"Please, Betty. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

"Daniel…I can sleep here."

"When was the last time you ate something?" Daniel asked her.

To be honest, Betty couldn't even remember. She hadn't even touched the lunch that Hilda had brought her from Queens this afternoon. Before that, she vaguely remembered some stale potato chips from the hospital vending machine that she ended up throwing away.

"Uh…."

"Go home. If you want…and it's closer, you don't want to go home and deal with Amanda, you can use my loft. Order some take-out, take a hot bath and sleep in my gigantic bed. I'm sure that you can find something of mine to sleep in."

"Daniel, that's too much." Then again, she did like the idea.

"If you really want to do something for me, you can take care of yourself." Daniel took her hand and lifted it his cut lips, giving them a very light kiss.

Betty smiled, as her heart fluttered. "Okay. You win. I'll go to your loft but I will be back first thing in the morning."

"I'm counting on it." Daniel smiled, as he let go of her hand. Betty leaned forward and kissed Daniel on the cheek.

**PLEAE REVIEW.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the comments. I really do appreicate them. They help keep me going and inspired._

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

As the next few days passed, Daniel knew that there was no way that he could be without Betty. In those days, she had become more to him than just his assistant and his caregiver. She was really his best friend and there was no doubt that he would be lost without her guiding him through the endless days, bringing some sunshine into his world.

With the exception of the times that few times that Molly had come to visit and the night she spent at his loft two nights ago, Betty had been at his side constantly. In truth, it was beginning to make him feel a little guilty how much time she was spending with him but he also didn't want to be without her either.

He needed her because he knew that he could trust her with anything. Daniel didn't know how but it seemed their connection was even stronger now than it had been before. Sometime, it was so strong that it scared Daniel.

He thought to talk to Daniel about it but he knew it would scare her. And then, she would go away. That was the last thing that Daniel wanted.

"Are you sure about this, Daniel?" He heard Betty close the curtain, allowing them to have some privacy. "I mean, I can get one of the pretty nurses down the hall to help you."

Daniel could tell that she was nervous because of the tone of her voice got really high. He could only imagine the look on her face.

_Oh…how he missed her face? He would do anything to see those red framed glasses and even the braces. It made him sad to think that he might never see it again._

"Betty, it's no big deal. You've done it once before."

"You promised to get someone else to do it." Betty said softly.

"I tried that last night when mom took you to get dinner. It felt weird having some strange woman that I couldn't see touching me." Daniel knew that sounded crazy, given his history with women. Things were felt different now.

"That's their job." Betty's tone told him that she was obviously amused.

"I'm glad you think this is funny, Betty."

"I'm sorry, Daniel." She giggled. "I just think that it's kind of ironic since almost every woman in Manhattan has already had their hands on you at some point and suddenly, you don't want that." He heard the splash of the water in the basin that Betty had filled beside his bed.

"Not every woman." Daniel chuckled. "I'm sure I missed a few."

"Yes…hot stuff, I'm sure there are one or two left that you haven't charmed." Betty said playfully. "Seriously though, I could wait until your mom gets back."

"I actually think that would be worse. No way."

He felt Betty's small hands reach around behind his neck, untying and unsnapping his hospital gown, threading it down both of his arms and removing it. He was thankful that he was able to wear boxers that Betty had brought him to wear.

Daniel could only imagine that Betty had been thankful that she had remembered to bring them with her. He knew how modest she was and he was sure she had already seen his bare ass a few dozen times since he entered the hospital. Not to mention, other things that he knew she never thought she would.

For the most part, she didn't even flinch. If he needed help, she was always there and he was so grateful for her.

As she started to run the damp sponge, down his neck and onto his chest, he let out a pleasurable breath. It felt so, so good.

"Oh…Yes. God…that feels so good, Betty" He said rather loudly.

"Daniel…" Betty giggled, as he laid his head back on the bed, as she continued down his chest.

"What's so funny?" He grinned.

"People are going to think that we're…."

"Doing what, Betty?" He said playfully.

"You know…"

"No…I don't think I do know." He loved playing with her. He could only image that her face with flaming with embarrassment. He wondered if the fact that he couldn't see her face made it easier to do the embarrassing tasks for him without missing a beat. If Betty hadn't wanted to be a writer, she could have definitely been a nurse…or even a doctor. Her bedside manner was amazing. Every time, she touched him. He could tell that she wanted to be there for him and never once did he sense that he was burden.

Betty laughed. "You are such a pain in my butt."

"Yes. You love it though," said Daniel.

"Maybe. I do….but Daniel, you do know that you are more than capable of doing this yourself." She dried his chest with a dry towel, before moving on to the next part of his body.

"It feels so much better when you do it. In fact, I'm glad you are coming home with me," said Daniel. "It can be our night time ritual."

"You have to learn to do things on your own and that includes taking showers, Daniel. I'm not going to bathe you every day." Betty splashed the sponge in the water basin. He could hear the water being rung out of the sponge. "You aren't completely helpless."

"I know. I just can't see anything and what if I need help," said Daniel.

"That's why I'll be there. I'll be doing the grocery shopping, cooking dinners and taking care of anything else you need, until we figure out what is going to happen next," Betty moved the sponge back onto his chest.

"You might as well, be my wife." He said jokingly.

She suddenly stopped her hand, just above his belly button. He felt water dripping down his side. "Why would you say that?"

He chuckled. "Betty, relax. I was kidding."

"Oh….okay." She tried to dry the water with the towel.

Speaking of women, Daniel knew that there was something that he was dying to talk to Betty about and given how close they were getting. He figure that it was probably the best time to bring up something that had been weighing heavy on his mind for the last few days.

"Betty, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." She moved the sponge down his left arm.

"If I don't get my sight back, what am I going to do?"

"What do you mean?" Betty seemed confused by his question. He knew that he wasn't being clear enough.

"I mean….I was just getting to point in my life where I was starting to think about settling down and having a family. What woman is going to want to do that with someone that is blind?"

"Oh…Daniel! There are a lot of people that are blind and they are married and have families." Betty leaned over him. Her breasts brushed against his arm. "Anyway, the person that truly loves you isn't going to care about that. I promise you."

"You sound so sure." Daniel wished that he could be as confident about that, as Betty sounded when she said that to him.

"Life isn't always about having a perfect fairy tale but I still like to believe in happy endings." Betty dried off his arm. "And anyway, you might be surprised that love will come to you from the last place you would suspect."

"I hope you are right."

"I know I'm right, Daniel." Betty rubbed her hand alone along his face. "I think you need a shave."

"Actually, I was thinking about growing a beard. What do you think?" Daniel chuckled.

"I love your smooth face." Betty wrung out the sponge and then started down his right leg. "You look so young and handsome."

"You think I'm handsome."

"Daniel, you know you are."

"I've just never heard you say that about me." Daniel grinned.

"Yes I have. You just...you just don't remember." Betty's voice crackled with emotion.

Daniel grinned, as he felt himself harden, as she moved up his inner thigh. This reaction startled Daniel, causing him to sit up in an effort to distract her. An action that Daniel realized was a mistake as soon as he did it. The pain from his bruised rubs shot through his body.

"You okay?" Betty placed her hand on his shoulder. "Do you need me to get a nurse?"

"I'm just cold. Could you get the blanket?" Daniel's heart pounded, as he tried to steady his breathing.

"Sure, "said Betty in a curious tone.

He heard her move across the room and open up the closet. A few moments later, he heard her place the blanket down on the end of the bed. "Betty, give me the blanket.

"Give me a minute. I have to dry your legs off….and I also need you to turn over so that I can…"

"That won't be necessary. Just give me the blanket."

There was a moment of silence that hung between them. Then, Betty continued to dry off his right leg. He heard her snicker softly.

"Oh…god. Can I crawl away and hide under a rock?" Daniel was mortified.

"Daniel, there is nothing to be embarrassed by. It's totally a natural thing," said Betty. "Anyway, I've already seen everything you have to offer. In fact, I think you owe me something from Tiffany's."

She giggled. "As soon as I'm done with your sponge bath, I'll call Nigel and order the usual….or just a big diamond ring. I think you were right about the whole wife thing. I've earned it."

Daniel chuckled. "You always make me feel better."

"Anyway, that's what I'm here for…just your entertainment." Betty continued her work, despite his engorged state.

When he sensed her within his reach, he reached out for her. "You really are the best friend that I ever had, Betty."

"And you mine, Daniel. It's really nothing. I owe you my life."

"There is something else I need to tell you and I know that it's going to sound crazy…"

"You can tell me anything. I promise I won't think that you are crazy," said Betty.

"I think I have feelings for someone." Daniel let go of Betty's arm.

"Oh…so that's why you were asking about a woman being able to accept your condition." Betty seemed intrigued.

"Yeah." He nodded, as he felt her place the blanket over his lap, covering him up.

"Do I know her?" Betty asked curiously.

"Yeah. Actually, you do." Daniel felt his heart flutter a little, as he thought about Molly and how sweet she had been since his accident. She had been to visit every day. "Betty, what do you think of Molly?"

"I really don't know her that well." Betty's tone was flat.

"She's been really great since the accident….and even before that..." Daniel felt warmth rush through him. "And now that she's not with Connor."

"Oh…I see," said Betty.

Daniel wished that he was able to see the look on Betty's face. The sounds of her voice told him that she thought he was crazy.

"Come on, Betty. Believe me…I know that it sounds crazy." Daniel admitted.

"She has been to visit you every day," Betty moved away from him. "Do you really feel something for her?"

"Well…it's all kind of fuzzy but I think I might. We almost kissed in The Closet at MODE a few days before the accident and then she kissed me yesterday before she left."

Then, Daniel heard the sound of a basin of water tumbling to the ground. "Oh no…" Betty cried out.

"Betty, what happened?"

"It's nothing, Daniel. I…uh….It's just me being a klutz. I'll be back. I have to get this water cleaned up," said Betty.

Seconds later, Betty was gone and the room was silent.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback. I really appreciate it. _

**Chapter 10**

* * *

Betty was feeling a range of emotions about the events that were unfolding around her…in regards, to Daniel. That's why she had to get away from the source of her heartbreak. Being close to him and caring for him was making her heart ache more.

So, the previous evening after she finished cleaning up the water that she had spilled, got Daniel dressed, Betty told Daniel that she wasn't feeling well and was going home.

Instead of her apartment, she found herself at Daniel's loft, where she slipped into one of Daniel's t-shirts and crawled into his bed and cried herself to sleep.

In the light of the morning, Betty was beginning to see things differently. After some sleep, she realized that she couldn't totally blame Daniel for all of this. Though, he was starting to show signs of his memory returning. He still didn't remember everything. He had no memory of the things that he had said to her on the bridge that night or about the time they had spent together. He didn't even remember the invitation to St. Bart's that he had extended.

Then again, maybe, he didn't want to remember. Maybe, he was using her to try to forget some forbidden things that he and Molly had going on. But all that had changed now that Molly was available and they were free to be together. Molly seemed interested, as did Daniel.

And though, Betty's heart was breaking. She wanted Daniel to be happy. If being with Molly gave him hope for the future, Betty would have to make the sacrifice, even if it killed her inside to do it.

She would just focus on her job of taking care of him. After all, walking away from him was not an option because she knew that Daniel needed her, even if it was only temporary. And the funny thing was she needed him to need her.

First thing this morning, Betty had been awakened by a phone call that the doctors were ready to release Daniel from the hospital. This news threw Betty into a frenzy of activity. There was so much to be done that she had to call Hilda over to help her get it all done.

There was an endless list of things to do to keep her mind off her own problems. The apartment needed to be cleaned since Daniel's regular cleaning woman had quit a few weeks earlier. There was grocery shopping that needed to be done. Daniel's prescriptions had to be picked up. Laundry needed to be done. She needed to go to her apartment and pack her things since she was going to be living with Daniel for a while.

By the time, Betty finished all her errands Daniel was already home when she returned. As she came through the door, she could hear laughter coming from the living room. She peaked around the corner, as she placed her suitcase at the end of the hall. Daniel was sitting on the cough with Molly sitting across from him. They were talking and laughing together, making Betty's heart ache.

There was no way that she could go in there, so she made her way into the kitchen where Hilda was preparing dinner.

"Hilda, thank you so much for everything." Betty said gratefully. "There was no way that I could have gotten everything done without you and Papi. Plus, the apartment looks great."

Hilda stood at the counter, tearing lettuce like a mad woman. "No problem. Is that woman staying for dinner?"

"Molly…uh…I don't know." Betty walked toward the stove to see what her father had spent the afternoon preparing, as a thank you to Daniel for saving Betty's life. "I haven't gone in there to ask. How long has she been here?"

"She showed up five minutes after Claire brought him home," said Hilda. "With her basket of goodies to welcome him home."

"Oh…" Betty could tell that Hilda wasn't happy.

"Is that all you can say, Betty?"

"What am I supposed to say? I only take care of him. He can spend time with who he wants. It's not my business."

"You are unbelievable." Hilda groaned and then looked directly at her. "Listen…I know that you are trying to be patient with him. I heard you on the phone last night. I heard you cry over him. You are heartbroken. You have to tell him about what happened that night."

"Hilda, it's not simple."

"Mamita, you have to tell him." Hilda picked up to chop the cucumbers and pointed it the sharp knife at her. "You aren't doing him….or yourself any good by not talking about how you feel."

"He needs me to help to take care of him right now," said Betty. "He needs me as his caregiver…not his girlfriend."

"You can be both." Hilda sighed.

"Hilda, please stay out of it. You hear him laughing…that is what I want for him. I want him to be happy."

"You make him happy too. I've seen it, even since the accident. And you are just going to let that woman move in on the man who you love."

"I never said that I loved him." Betty couldn't even look at her sister.

"It's obvious. You have barely left his side. You are the one that has taken care of him and I know that you aren't just doing it because you feel obligated to him. It's because you love him, Betty. I saw the look in both of your eyes the night of my party."

"You did not."

"Yes. I did. Justin saw it too," said Hilda.

"It happened too fast. It couldn't have been real. It's not the kind of love that lasts," said Betty..

"Maybe, it just happened so quickly because you both needed the chance to open your eyes and see what had already right there all along. I don't think this love between the two of you is a new thing. I think it's been buried deep in both of your hearts since the beginning."

Hilda added. "He just needs to be reminded."

"But what if he still doesn't choose me? I don't think my heart could take that."

"At least then you will know and you can move on but I don't think that is the case."

They heard Molly's laugh echo through the hall. "I need to get Daniel his medication." Betty moved over to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water and Daniel's pain medication.

Hilda captured her arm, as she left. "Betty, I know that you think that he has feeling for this Molly woman but you told me yourself that he told you that he had feelings for you. I don't think that Daniel would lie about that. You just need to fight for your man."

Betty started into the living room and she wondered if she really was giving up too easily. After all, it was clear on her side that she loved Daniel. If she loved him, she should be willing to fight for him.

"So…are you going to stay for dinner, Molly?" Betty asked, even though she really didn't want Molly to stay.

"Oh…no. I can't stay. I just wanted to make sure that Daniel knew that I made a few calls for him in Chicago. There are some really great programs to help with adults that become blind later in life." Molly pointed at the packet of information on the coffee table, as she got up to leave. "He might want to think about one of them to help him get adjusted.

"Oh…I've already looked into all that." Betty placed the pill bottle and bottle of water down on the table. "I'll take care of Daniel. That's my job."

"Well…I was just trying to help." Molly got up to leave.

"Thank you but we have it handled." Betty crossed her arms. "Daniel, it's time for your medication. Hilda almost has dinner ready…and then I think you should rest."

"All I've been doing is resting, Betty." Daniel sat on the couch.

"She's just trying to take care of you, Daniel." Molly smiled, as she headed out. "She's doing a great job. If you need anything, just have Betty call me. I'll be right over."

"Thank you, Molly."

"I'll be right back to give you your medication, Daniel."

As Betty began down the hall to show Molly the door, Molly nearly tripped over Betty's suitcase that was in the hallway.

"That's a big suitcase. Moving in for a while." Molly commented on the large suitcase.

"Oh…how silly of me. I really meant to take that to mine and Daniel's bedroom." Betty placed the suitcase further against the wall and then opened the door. "And yes, I'm here for however long Daniel needs me. I'm not going anywhere."

Betty added. "Thank you for coming by, Molly."

Molly exited and Betty closed the door.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: This chapter contains a small overlap from the previous chapter. I hope that it's not too confusing. However, I thought that it was important to see what was going through Daniel's mind, before we proceed._

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Since last night, Daniel hadn't been able to shake the feeling that there was something bothering Betty. Her unusual behavior, the tone in her voice and sudden exit from the hospital last night had kept him up most of the night, as thoughts of her consumed his mind.

The little bit of sleep that he did get resulted in him waking up in a cold sweat from a nightmare about the accident and about what would have happened, if he hadn't reached Betty in time.

Perhaps, it was because he could have lost her…or even though, it didn't turn out that way. He realized he was still afraid of losing her. Her absence from his bedside left Daniel feeling empty, alone and desperate for her.

In his time alone, Daniel replayed all her words in his head, trying to figure out what was wrong. If he could only seen her face, he knew he would have been able to figure out the moment that everything seemed to everything took a turn. He couldn't though and that killed him more than anything.

Then about half way through the night Daniel realized where he had gone wrong. Her mood had shifted when he had mentioned Molly and the kisses.

How could he be so insensitive to not know what was possibly happening? Was it possible that Betty was developing feelings for him? Or had feelingss for him?

Daniel realized that this was a very real possibility. The things that she had done for him went far beyond what she was being paid to do or what she felt she owed him. Why couldn't he have seen it before? Or actually, felt it before now?

The way she touched him should have given it away. Without even realizing it at the time, he now knew that her tender touch was the best medicine that he had in the hospital. Without her, he didn't know if he would even want to go on.

So, Daniel was grateful when his doctor agreed to release him from the hospital to go home to finish recuperating. Out of the hospital, Daniel knew that he would be able to show Betty just how much she was needed in his life. .

The first step in that was removing the source of Betty's pain because the last thing that Daniel wanted to do was hurt Betty.

Daniel heard the front door shut and he heard Betty's voice in the kitchen. He knew that he needed to do what he had to do to end this thing with Molly.

"Daniel, I really think you should think about the program in Chicago. I believe that it would really help you. In fact, I wouldn't mind going with you. I'm sure that I could take some time off," said Molly. "I made a few phone calls and I'm sure they could get you in right after the holidays."

She added. "You could meet my family. It would be fun." Molly laughed

"I appreciate it, Molly. I do." Daniel sighed. "I'll have to talk to Betty though."

"Daniel, you do know that Betty can't take care of you forever. She's young. She wants a career. She isn't going to want to take care of you forever," said Molly. "You need to make your own decisions about your future."

"I am aware of that. Betty can still be whatever she wants to be in her life…but the fact is that I've been doing a lot of thinking and I've realized that I don't just need her in my life. I want her in my life for as long as she will have me, Molly."

"You are in love with her?" Molly said softly.

For a moment, Daniel thought about it. He didn't know why he didn't think of it sooner but he knew that it was true. He was in love with Betty. Perhaps, he always had been in one way or another.

"Yes. I am. So…I'm sorry but this thing between us is not going to happen. My heart is already taken by the woman in the other room. She's always been there for me through everything."

"Wow…I can't believe I've been so stupid." Molly let out a sigh.

"You aren't stupid."

"No…I am," said Molly. "I should have realized that there was more between the two of you when you saved her life the way you did. I honestly thought that you and Betty were just pretending to be smitten with each other the night of Wilhelmina's party. The way you were looking at her that night….I just should have realized."

Daniel had a flash in his mind of Betty in a strapless royal blue dress on the stairs of the Suarez house. Her dark hair cascaded over her shoulder. She looked gorgeous.

"I hope that you will find someone that makes you happy, Molly."

"Thank you." Molly said graciously. "I hope that Betty loves you the way that you deserve. You are wonderful man and I know that you are going to overcome your disability. If you and Betty want to go to Chicago, I will still be happy to help you however I can."

"I appreciate that." Daniel grinned.

"So…are you going to stay for dinner, Molly?" Daniel heard Betty ask Molly. Her tone confirmed how uncomfortable that Betty was having Molly here.

"Oh…no. I can't stay. I just wanted to make sure that Daniel knew that I made a few calls for him in Chicago. There are some really great programs to help with adults that become blind later in life." Molly pointed at the packet of information on the coffee table, as she got up to leave. "He might want to think about one of them to help him get adjusted."

"Oh…I've already looked into all that." Daniel heard the rattle of the pill bottle that Betty had placed down on the coffee table. "I'll take care of Daniel. That's my job."

"Well…I was just trying to help." Molly got up from the couch.

"Thank you but we have it handled," said Betty. "Daniel, it's time for your medication. Hilda almost has dinner ready…and then I think you should rest."

"All I've been doing is resting, Betty." Daniel felt Betty's hand on his shoulder.

"She's just trying to take care of you, Daniel." Molly headed for the door "She's doing a great job. If you need anything, just have Betty call me. I'll be right over."

"Thank you, Molly," said Daniel.

After Molly left, Hilda quickly followed soon after and for the first time in almost a week, he and Betty were alone. In the hospital, it had been almost impossible to get a moments peace between his mother, and the constant parade of doctors and nurses that were in and out of his room.

Now that they were home, Daniel was ready to try to get Betty to open up to him. After all, they needed an open and honest line of communication between each other. There should be no secrets

He was going to finally get the truth about what happened the night of the accident to help fill in the blanks of what he was already remembering and what Molly had said about him and Betty being enamored with one another on the night of Wilhelmina's party.

"Dinner was amazing." Daniel was stuffed from the tamales that Betty's father had made for them. "If your dad keeps cooking like that for us, I'm going to gain a lot of weight."

Betty chuckled. "Well, we will just have to go for walks in the park down the street. The weather is beautiful. Of course, I think it might snow this weekend."

"Not sure that I'm ready for that yet…but maybe, soon." Daniel said solemnly. He didn't know why but he didn't like the idea of being splashed across the tabloids in his current condition.

"Well, we can figure out some exercises for you to do until you are ready to get out." He heard Betty unzipped her suitcase.

"Daniel, do you mind if I put my things in the bottom drawers?" Betty asked, as she put away her things.

"Sure." He unbuttoned his shirt. "Whatever you need, it's yours."

"I put my things on the right side of the closet," Betty moved over to the dresser and opened the drawer. "Yours on the left."

"Thanks for the heads up. I wouldn't want to go out in public wearing your clothes," said Daniel.

Betty giggled. "Tomorrow, we'll get your things organized so that you know where everything is because something got moved around when we were cleaning this afternoon."

"Okay." Daniel pulled off his shirt.

"And Christmas is next week. I think Alexis and DJ are going to be here. I need to find out what your mom and my family wants to do. Maybe, we could just combine our celebrations," said Betty.

"That sounds good. Not sure how much I have to celebrate though. It's not like I can see anything."

"Daniel, you have a lot to be thankful for." He heard her close the closet door. "You are alive and I'm sure that this is going to be temporary. You are going to see again."

Daniel inhaled deeply. He could smell Betty's vanilla lotion and he knew that Betty was near. "Betty, can you come closer?"

"Do you need something?" Betty moved in. Her tone laced with the concern for him that made Daniel ache because he knew that he had hurt her and she still continued to take care of him.

He reached out for her, pulling her towards him. His hands rested on her waist. Daniel pulled her closer; bring his head to her stomach. He felt her hands came to rest on the back of his head.

"I just need you." Daniel whispered, as he continued to hold onto her.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I do appreciate them. They keep me inspired and keep me going._

**Chapter 12**

Betty ran her hands through Daniel's hair, as he continued to hold onto her tightly, like she was the most precious thing he had in his life and to be honest, she was a bit puzzled about what had brought on this affectionate gesture.

All through dinner, Betty had thought about how she had basically showed Molly the door and staked her claim on Daniel, by implying something that wasn't even the truth.

The facts were that she and Daniel weren't sharing a bedroom. She was sleeping on the couch, unless she later discovered that Daniel needed her in the night. Then, the plan was to use the cot that was stored in the walk-in closet down the hall to set up camp in the corner of his bedroom.

Betty could only hope that Daniel wouldn't be angry with her for her sudden rage of jealously. From the silence at dinner, she was beginning to wonder if he was upset with how rude that she had been to Molly. Instead of facing it, Betty did her best to make conversation about the holidays, the weather and walks in the park.

Then, he finally reached out to her, asking her to come closer, whispering repeatedly how much he needed her and she responded by doing everything she could to comfort him.

"Daniel, it's okay." He rested his head on her breasts.

"Life isn't fair." Daniel took a deep breath.

"No. It's not." Betty whispered, as she recalled the dinner. The one spilled water-glass and the other challenges that Daniel was already facing, like trying to find out where things were on the table. "I would give anything to give your sight back to you, if I could. But you aren't going to go through this alone."

Daniel lifted his head. "Yes…I'll always have my beautiful Betty."

"That's sweet, Daniel."

"I mean it…you were so beautiful that night, Betty." Daniel said softly. "And if I never see again, I'll have that image in the back of my mind."

"What night?"

"The night that I fell in love with you, Betty…and the moment that I saw you standing on the stairs in that blue dress." He brought his head back down to rest against her. "God…you were so grown up. It was like in a matter of hours you blossomed into a woman before my eyes. I can't believe that could forget a moment as important as that."

"You remember?" Betty felt tears flood her eyes. "How much?"

"I guess…everything." Daniel's tone seemed unsure. "I mean, I'm not sure that I remember everything…everything. I do remember what's important though."

"Daniel, I'm so happy. That's wonderful," said Betty.

"Betty, you are wonderful. You stuck beside me when I was being stupid. This whole Molly thing was a mistake and I'm sorry if I hurt you. Hurting you is the last thing that I would ever want to do. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Hmmm…let me think?" Betty said confidently.

"I need you, Betty." He said seriously.

"I'm not going anywhere, Daniel." She ran her hand over the back of his head, as his arms snaked around her waist.

"I love you so much, Betty."

"What?" She couldn't have heard him right. "What did you say?"

"I said that I love you, Betty." He repeated, as he reached for the zipper of her dress and began to pull it down very slowly.

"What about Molly?" Betty's voice shook, as her heart beat faster with every centimeter that the zipper of her dress was lowered. To be honest, Betty hated bring her up but she wanted to make sure that Daniel was still not harboring any feelings.

"I want you. You are the only one I want," said Daniel. "I told her that tonight. I told her that you are the one that I love."

"You did?" She whispered, as he continued to pull down the zipper. Betty knew that she should tell him to stop because there were things they needed to talk about. In fact, there were a lot of thing to talk about.

Rational things like the night of the accident and how she felt about him. But as soon as his fingertips began dancing along her bare back, Betty lost all chances for rational thought. With the simplest touch of his hands, he had managed to bring her entire body to life the way that no other man ever had and there was no way that she could slow this down.

"Yes." Daniel nodded. "Molly said some things that made me remember bits and pieces…and then it just all started falling together." Daniel felt his way up her arms. Despite his lack of sight, Daniel seemed to have no trouble finding his way around her body because the next thing that Betty knew her dress was pooled in a heap on the floor at her feet, leaving her in only her bra and panties.

Maybe, it was because Daniel couldn't see her with his eyes that she let it get this far, this fast. After all, he was Daniel Meade and he was her best friend. But he was also the man she loved and as his hands explored her body, it didn't feel wrong at all. It was like Daniel was using his hands to see her….to really see her for the first time.

"I think that I need you to help me in the shower." Daniel rested his head on her breasts and he brought his hands to her backside. "You know so…you can help me find where everything is."

"Oh…you'll have no problem finding where everything is." Betty giggled, as she helped him up from the edge of the bed. "You don't really need me."

Betty had to admit that she was loved teasing Daniel. It was so fun and he seemed to be having a lot of fun with it too. Just seeing the smile on his face made that much better.

"I do…and I hope you need me too," said Daniel hopefully.

Betty brought her hands to his face. "Of course, I do. I'm never going to leave you, no matter what happens….because I love you, Daniel."

Daniel leaned down and she met his lips eagerly with hers. Otherwise, he was about to kiss her nose, which would have probably been hilarious but now, she didn't want hilarious. She wanted his lips on hers.

Betty deepened the kiss, which suddenly occurred to her was their first real kiss. When they finally broke away from their heated kiss, Daniel took her face in his hands gently.

"God…how I wish I could actually see your face right now….look in your eyes." Daniel said emotionally. Betty could almost see the traces of tears beginning to gather in his eyes. She could also see some frustration there too.

He leaned his forehead against hers. "You will, Daniel. I keep telling you this. You got your memories back. Now, the next step is your sight."

"I hope so."

"I know so." Betty said confidently, as she unbuttoned his pants and unzipped them and then teasingly abandoned her task. "Now…I guess I should help you with that shower that you wanted so badly. I think that it was probably just your excuse to get me naked."

"You're onto me already, Ms. Suarez." Daniel leaned in for another kiss.

"You better get keep your hands to yourself, Mr. Meade," said Betty. "Or I'll…."

Daniel chuckled. "Or you'll what?"

Betty reached down and unzipped his pants, pulling them down along with his pants.

_Boxers and all._

Her face flamed with warmth when she saw Daniel's evident arousal. Daniel wasn't bothered one bit by the fact that he as standing there, wearing nothing but a mischievous grin. Her actions were having far more effect on her than him.

"Betty…" Daniel chuckled. "Now…how about that shower?"

Her mind flashed back to last night in the hospital when the same thing happened when she was giving him a sponge bath.

Betty stared down at him and was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of confidence that she was able to evoke this reaction in Daniel.

"Actually, I have a better idea before we take that shower," Betty tried to control her own breathing. One breath…then another…

"Okay…" He chuckled. "What would that be?"

"I need you to trust me," said Betty.

"Completely." He brushed his hand against her arm and it made her heart pop out of her chest.

"I need you to sit down for a minute….over here on the bed." Betty led him over to the bed and made him comfortable, covering him up. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She gave him a quick kiss.

"What are you up to?" Daniel asked curiously.

Betty started toward the bathroom and then turned. "You'll see."

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I really appreciate it. I hope that you are still enjoying this story._

**Chapter 13**

* * *

Daniel had no idea what was going on with Betty. One minute, he was ready…really, ready to get in the shower with Betty and find out how to work around his injuries and show her how much he loved her and how much he wanted her.

Even Betty had seemed to be on board with the idea. However, she quickly put him to bed, left him here naked, while she seemed to be scavenging around the bedroom, bathroom and her suitcase in a shroud of secrecy about what she was doing, leaving Daniel afraid that he had moved too fast and causing her to freak out.

Perhaps, she wasn't ready for that step. Or maybe, she changed her mind totally when she started to really consider the possibility of spending the rest of her life with someone that was blind.

Daniel had to admit that the longer she left him sitting there, the more that he was starting to think that was the case. Maybe, she was using the time to figure out what to say to let him down easily.

He heard something hit the tile floor in the bathroom. "Betty…sweetie, is everything okay in there?"

"I'll….I'll be right out, Daniel. Don't get up." He heard something else hit the floor, followed by the slam of the bathroom cabinet for the third time in the past few minutes. "Stay there. I'm fine….."

"Okay. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't knock yourself out." Daniel heard the squeak of the bathroom door, signaling her return. "Or even worse…trying to make your getaway." He tried to make the last part sound like a joke.

"You said that you trusted me." Betty said sweetly.

"Oh…I do." He meant it too.

It was just that he couldn't blame her though, if she didn't want to move forward with their relationship, concerning the circumstances. "It just sounded like you were trying to leave…"

"No…nothing like that." Betty said, as she tried to catch her breath from her race around the bedroom and the bathroom. "I promise that I'm not going anywhere."

Daniel knew that he needed to lighten the mood a little and focus on something else. "I keep the condoms in the bedside table, if that was what you were looking for," said Daniel jokingly.

"What makes you think that was what I was looking for…I mean, doing?" Betty asked curiously.

He felt the bed shift, as she crawled onto it. He tucked away any thoughts that he had about her making a possible get away in the back of his mind. He didn't want to think about her leaving him once she got tired of taking care of him. He just wanted to enjoy what time they were together, for however long it lasted. "I was hoping I guess…"

Betty giggled, as she placed her hand on his leg. "Well….I guess, you know me better than I thought. I have to admit I'm not really good at this stuff."

"How about you help me into the shower? I can give you some pointers," Daniel said suggestively.

"Whoa…there, Daniel? He felt her hand move up to his chest, as she scooted up close to him. "I'm not really sure that is a good idea."

"Why not? I think it's a fantastic idea," said Daniel. "And you just said…"

"No….I meant." Betty laughed. "If we get in that shower together right now, you are going to end up back in the hospital." Betty placed a kiss on his jaw and then pulled away. "And I would rather not have that."

"It would be totally worth it, especially with a cute nurse like you to take care of me." Daniel leaned forward for a kiss. After a few seconds, Betty complied with his obvious need to have her lips on his.

"Well….Daniel, I prefer having you at home. I don't need to have you in the hospital to be your nurse. In fact, I am sure that I can take much, much better care of you right here at home," Betty said playfully, as her hand raked down the edge of the blanket and he felt her pull it away. "We can play anytime you want to right here. Maybe, we really should make those sponge baths our nighttime ritual, after all."

_Things were beginning to look up. Daniel realized._

He felt Betty move quickly to straddle his lap, being careful not to hurt him. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Her face was close to his and he could feel her breath on his cheek. "Wow…who are you and what have you done with my sweet girlfriend who said that she wasn't any good at this stuff?"

"Mmmmm….girlfriend." She murmured. "I like that."

"I'm glad…I do too." He ran his hands down her sides, feeling the silky fabric between his fingers.

"You should have done this in the hospital. I'm sure my memory would have come right back," said Daniel.

"Maybe…but I also would have gotten kicked out of the hospital. It was bad enough that the nurses thought we were doing stuff when I gave you that sponge bath."

"I wouldn't let that happen," Daniel chuckled. "Plus, I would like to see them try to separate us in the heat of the moment."

She gave him a playful shove. "You are so funny, Daniel."

Daniel knew that he needed a very important question to make sure that she wanted what he wanted. "So, are you sure? Are you sure that you want this…us? It's not going to be easy if I don't get my sight back."

"Of course, I'm sure," said Betty. "I've never wanted anything in my whole life this much. As for it not being easy, I've made it this far and I'm still here."

Daniel continued to feel the cool silky fabric. "Okay."

"You are not convincing at all. What do I have to do to prove it to you?"

Daniel grinned. "I can think of a few things but right now, I'm having a hard….time concentrating with you in my lap."

"Why's that?" Betty kissed him softly. Daniel wasn't stupid. He knew that Betty knew exactly what she was doing to him.

"I would have preferred you…not putting more clothes back on after I took them off," said Daniel. "It kind of sending me a mixed message about what you really want."

"I'm just interested in making your feel better, Daniel." Betty said.

"Less clothes would be better," said Daniel.

"Anything else, Mr. Meade." Betty began to plant soft kisses on his face.

"Actually, there is. One more thing that I think we need to change immediately." Daniel pulled his arms around Betty.

"What's that?" Her lips hovered near his.

"I think that we are both talking way too much. Right now, all I can think about is making love to you." He whispered, as he brought his lips to hers again.

Two second later, he stripped off the unnecessary garment before beginning his exploration of her body with his hands. Daniel learned very quickly to appreciate the senses that he did have.

He found himself getting lost in the softness of her skin and that familiar scent of vanilla that he had loved. A scent that he had already began to associate with her in the time she had been caring for him and it gave him the urge to have someone go out and buy every single bottle of the inexpensive lotion, just so that he could rub it all over her.

"I love you so much…" Daniel paused, as he reveled in the feeling of her body pressed against his.

"Love you too." She ran her hand along his cheek and he felt his tears begin the build.

_How could he have not wanted this before this moment? _

Even with his sight, Daniel finally realized just how blind to the love that was right there in front of him for almost two years. This amazing woman had been right there, helping him, guiding him and caring for him….and suddenly Daniel knew that even saving her life was sufficient in repaying what he owed to her.

Because even before that fateful night when he pushed her out of the path of that speeding car, she had saved him because without her, Daniel didn't know where he would be. It didn't take a stretch of the imagination to see that his life would be filled with loads of booze, drugs and an endless string of one-night stands.

Without her, he would be nothing. With her, he really was the richest man in the world because he had her love.

As they proceeded to make love for the first time, Daniel was consumed with desperation. He knew that he needed to do whatever it took to hold onto her and keep her. He couldn't help it. He was drawn to her, getting caught up in the scent, the sounds she made and the feel of the woman before him.

He didn't want it to end. He just wanted to live in this moment forever, so that he could continue to love her, treasure her and love her for the rest of his life, whether it was in the light or in the dark.

It didn't mean anything without her. She was his hope for the future and everything that he needed. There was nothing he wouldn't give her because she had already given him everything she had to give him.

_His beautiful Betty._

Despite Betty's attempts to keep it gentle and sweet, Daniel still felt some pain from his injuries. He did his best to mask them from her because there was no way that he wanted to stop this now.

This moment was too important. This was the moment their two world would collide together and he knew that nothing would ever be the same again.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for feedback and comments. Please keep them coming. I need the inspiration right now._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty._

**Chapter 14**

* * *

There were many times in Betty's life when she thought that she had discovered happiness. Each time, it seemed that there was something that got in the way. With Walter, it was Gina Gambaro and his love of his employee discount at Pro Buy. With Henry, it had been Charlie and the baby. With Matt, it had been his journey to find himself in Botswana

And now, instead of waiting for something to come between her and Daniel, Betty was determined that this time, it was going to be different because the love that she and Daniel shared was unique and special.

As Betty helped Daniel re-learn some of the simple things that most people take for granted, like finding his way around his own loft to picking out his clothes, the bond between she and Daniel grew stronger and stronger with each day.

And she knew that it wasn't just that he needed her, it was that he wanted her in his life. He made a point to show her that every single day in the way that he touched her heart with his smile and reached into the depths of her soul when he touched her when they made love.

There was no doubt to anyone that was in their presences that Daniel made Betty was a very happy woman.

Around the dinner table, Betty and Daniel's family gathered for their Christmas celebration. The food that her father had sent the afternoon slaving over in Claire's kitchen filled the table.

"I knew I should have worn my fat pants," said Amanda. "I ate way too much. I don't think I could take another bite." Amanda pushed her plate away. "Marc, remind me to borrow some of Betty's fat clothes so I have more room next time."

Betty did her best to ignore that comment about her weight. She also withheld her comments about how Marc and Amanda manage to worm their way into this family dinner. It was like Amanda had a sixth sense when it came to flan.

"I'm stuffed." Hilda groaned.

"There is so much food left over," said Betty.

"Betty and I are moving in with you, Mr. Suarez." Daniel proclaimed, as Justin and DJ began to clear the plates from the table and take them to the kitchen. "Because I have learned that Betty can't cook…and I think we are going to starve to death."

"Hey…Be nice," Betty playfully slapped Daniel's arm.

"Do you see the abuse that I put up with?" Daniel leaned forward to meet her in a quick kiss. Betty met him eagerly.

"Hey…it's not my fault that I burned the pancakes yesterday morning," said Betty. "I was distracted." Betty reached over and took Daniel's hand, squeezing it.

"And why would that be, my love?" Daniel raised his eyebrow.

"Daniel…stop." He was teasing her. He knew exactly why she burned breakfast. He was just as guilty as she was when it came to the failed attempt at cooking.

"You two are so cute?" Hilda smiled.

Betty scooted her chair closer to Daniel, so she could hold his hand, while they were waiting for dessert. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Will you two give it a rest?" Alexis said in a slightly bitter tone. "We get it. You love each other. You are making me nauseous."

"I'm sorry, Alexis." Daniel said unapologetically. "I don't expect you to understand what it's like….but I'm afraid that I'm about to make it worse for you."

Betty looked at Daniel, as he squeezed her hand. "Daniel…"

"Mom..." Daniel gazed to the right of him, where he knew that Claire was seated. "I think it's time."

"Time for what?" Betty asked.

"IT'S TIME FOR FLAN." Amanda shouted loudly.

Daniel shook his head. "Amanda, I'm blind, not deaf. And no…there's something else that I need to say…" His voice shook with emotion.

"Sweetie…" Betty wondered what Daniel had to say.

Daniel looked in her direction. "Betty, I don't think I can ever thank you enough for everything that you've done for me. I do know that your love is the most amazing gift that I've ever received. I tried to think of the perfect Christmas present to give you to show you how much I love you and appreciate you. I couldn't buy anything that could come even close."

"You don't have to get me anything, Daniel."

"Actually, I do…but I need you to promise me that you won't freak out. Okay?"

"Okay." Betty was clueless. All she did know was that Daniel seemed very nervous and every eye around the table was focused on them.

"I love you, Betty. I don't think that's any secret now," said Daniel. "And I know this is quick…." He took a deep breath. "Really quick…but I have no doubt that I could search the rest of my life and not find anyone half as special as you. You are the one that I want to share my life with. You are the one that I want to be the mother of my children….someday."

"Oh…Daniel." Betty felt the tears begin to fill her eyes. Daniel held out his hand and Claire removed the ring from her hand and placed it in Daniel's hand.

"OH MY GOD! HE'S PROPOSING." Amanda gasped.

"Shut up, Amanda!" Hilda slapped the blonde that was seated beside her. "And him do it!"

"Betty, Will you be my wife?" Daniel ignored Amanda. "Will you marry me?"

"Daniel…." Betty was overcome. This was crazy. It was so fast. There were so many things to think about that. How could she even answer this now?

Yes. She loved Daniel with all her heart and that included possible marriage down the road. This was the last thing that she expected now.

"Betty, I know that this is a lot for you. I'm not talking about marrying me right this second, "said Daniel. "In fact, I was thinking that it would be better to wait until after I come back."

"Come back?" Where was he going?

"Yes. I'll be gone for 12 weeks," said Daniel. "There is this program that will help me learn what I need to know so that I can manage on my own."

"I can help you," said Betty. "And you are going to get your sight back."

"But if I don't, I need to be able to take care of you, Betty. I don't want you to spend the rest of our life together with you taking care of me. It's supposed to work both ways. We are supposed to take care of each other. I have to do this to be able to hold up my end of that."

Betty started to get up but Daniel held her hand, so she couldn't run. "Daniel, we need to talk about this somewhere else."

"Betty, everyone at this table loves both of us," said Daniel. "There is nothing that they aren't going to find out anyway."

"He's right, Betty." Hilda chimed in.

"Daniel, please…."

"Okay, let's go in the other room," Daniel finally agreed.

The room was silent, as Betty led Daniel out of the room and into the family room. As soon as they left, she could hear the whispers of those they left behind. There was no doubt what they were talking about.

"Daniel, this is crazy." She sat down beside Daniel on the couch.

"I'm sorry for ambushing you, Betty. It's how I feel though and that's not going to change. I want you to marry me."

"We've been dating for a week, Daniel."

"Tell me that you don't love me. Tell me that you want to marry me," said Daniel.

"Of course, I do love you." Betty felt like she couldn't breathe. "And yes I do want that."

A smile came to Daniel's face where an expression of sadness had been moments earlier. "I just need you to say it, Betty. I need hear you say you want to marry me.

"Of course, I'll marry you, Daniel."

He pulled her into his arms, happily. "Thank God! Betty, I promise you that you won't regret this. As soon as I get back from Chicago, I promise."

Daniel released her and searched for her hand. His hands were shaking, as he tried to put the ring on. She helped guide him to the correct finger on her left hand.

"If it's too big, we can have it sized." His hand continued to shake as he slide the ring on her finger.

She looked down at the ring. "Actually, it's a perfect fit."

"That's a good sign." Daniel's face lit up, as his hand brushed the top of her finger that contained the ring. "I wish I could see it…"

"You will. I still believe that." Betty looked down at the diamond ring on her finger. It was unbelievable.

"Come here." He gestured for her to sit down on his lap. "You see that is why I have to marry you." She compiled with his request. As she settled on his lap, he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"So…when are we leaving for Chicago?" Betty asked.

"I'm taking leave from MODE….indefinitely." Daniel said with some regret in his voice.

"I know that has to be hard for you, sweetie." Betty gently brushed his cheek.

"It's for the best for Meade…for MODE…for us," said Daniel.

"I'm sure that Wilhelmina was thrilled," Betty said lightly. "Wilhelmina was practically giddy with excitement when mom told her that I could be gone for up to a year."

"A year? I thought it was only 12 weeks," said Betty.

"That's just the beginning. When I get back from this program, I'm still going to have a lot of work to do to get back to where I need to be," said Daniel. "I have to start this as soon as possible so that I can be the best husband to you."

Betty could hear the excitement in Daniel's voice, as he continued to tell her about the program and all the things that he was going to learn. He really sounded excited and his excitement increased when he talked about coming home to marry her. It was then that she truly knew that this was the right thing.

"So…when do we leave for Chicago?" She asked again

"4 weeks but…Betty, I wish you could go but you need to stay here."

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for feedback and comments. I appreciate it very much. I also just wanted to clarify the timeline a little bit, so it makes sense in the chapters ahead. In this chapter, Daniel still has 4 weeks until he leaves for Chicago. Once he is gone, he will be gone for 12 weeks. This means, that Daniel and Betty won't get married for 4 months or longer. (There will be some leaps in time in some of the future chapters.)_

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Daniel hated when Betty didn't say anything because he couldn't see the expression on her face to know what might be going through her beautiful mind. At this point, the only conclusion that he could reach was that she was upset that she had to stay in New York, while he was thousands of miles away in Chicago.

"Betty, you know that I hate it when you don't say anything." He said nervously. "Please say something."

"I'm sorry. I know you hate it when I'm quiet." Betty said regrettably.

"It's okay. I know that this is a lot to take in and I know how much you hate change. I just need you to believe in me…and believe in us, that we can get through any."

"I do." She said softly.

"Tell me what's wrong." Daniel could hear the sadness in her tone. "This is supposed to be a happy occasion."

"I know that too. I just….what am I supposed to say? My fiancée and my best friend just told me that he is going away for 12 weeks and that I can't go with him."

"It's not like I want to leave you. This is for both of us, Betty."

"I know…I'm sorry I just… don't want to be without you. I've kind of gotten used to being with you, sleeping beside you." Betty took his hand in hers. "Twelve weeks seems like forever."

"It will fly by. You will be so busy that you are barely going to notice that I'm gone." He kissed her on the cheek.

"I wouldn't go that far. It's not like I have a job, if you aren't at MODE," said Betty.

"Don't worry about that. You still have a job at MODE," Daniel leaned back on the couch, pulling her against him. "Wilhelmina might be rid of me for the time being but she is still going to have to see your cheerful face."

He continued. "Anyway, you have YETI that you can throw yourself into. Just because you are going to be my wife…that doesn't mean that I don't want you to have everything that you ever wanted—career-wise. I have no intention of keeping you at home, bare-foot and pregnant. I know that you have bigger dreams that that and I am going to do everything I can to make sure they come true."

"Daniel, that's very sweet but as much as those dreams are important to me, you and the life we are going to have together are the most important things to me. The rest is just a bonus."

"Well then….you better be ready to marry me as soon as I get back from Chicago." Daniel brought his face closer to hers.

"Can I come visit while you are away?" Betty asked, as she began kissing along his jaw line, in an attempt to get him to do what she wanted him to do. "They do allow that, right?"

"Oh…yeah." He moaned, as he reveled in the feeling of her lips on his skin. His mind temporarily wandered to the activities that were likely going to consume a majority of their time over the next four weeks, while he prepared for his trip and Betty was on temporary leave from MODE to assist him with the preparations. "Of course, visiting is a great idea. I'm sure we can figure something out…"

Betty cut him off with a kiss that made him so hot that he wished they weren't in his mother's living room with their families a few rooms away. As she deepened the kiss, it suddenly occurred to Daniel just how much he was difficult this separation was going to be on both of them. Not that he didn't know that when he had made the decision. It was just now that Betty knew. It was real.

With the exception of a few potential visits, he and Betty were going to be apart for whole 12 weeks. That was 3 months and Daniel knew better than anyone how much can change in that amount of time.

It was only 3 month ago that Daniel was working at Player Magazine and the father to DJ and Betty was traveling the country trying to find herself on vacation, after turning down Henry's proposal and a trip to Rome with Gio.

Who could have ever guessed that now he and Betty would now be engaged? It was proof that a lot could change in 3 months.

Daniel was confident that no matter what happened in the next 3 months. His feeling for Betty would not. She was the only woman for him and this trip was going to make their future better.

As Betty finally stopped kissing him, he managed to catch his breath. "I'm going to miss you so much." Betty followed up with another soft kiss.

"We can do this," said Daniel. "But there is a bright side in all this."

"What's that?" She asked curiously.

"We get to spent four whole weeks together before I leave." Daniel reminded her. "We have a lot to do in that time. We have a wedding to plan…and I want to spend every second that I can with you."

"That's true." Betty wrapped her hands around his neck. "And maybe…you will get your sight back in that time and you won't have to leave me at all."

"We'll see." Daniel knew that getting his sight back was not up to him. So, there was no way he could promise. All he could do was hope for the best. "One day at a time. Okay?"

"Okay." Betty agreed, as she touched his cheek. "Did I tell you how much I love you?"

"Not in the last five minutes…but I wouldn't mind a reminded again," Two second later, he felt her lips on his again.

As they continued to make out, Daniel tried to imagine what the future held for them and the other plans that he had.

Though he hadn't told her yet, he planned to give his shares of Meade Publications to Betty, as a wedding present. It was a gift that he knew would establish Betty in the publishing world. There was no doubt in Daniel's mind that she had the potential to be as powerful as Wilhelmina, if given the right tools. With her admittance to YETI, her hard work at MODE and his gift, she would be on her way. It probably wasn't going to hurt that she would soon be taking his last name either.

He knew Betty was going to be upset about it. He hoped that when the time came to cross that bridge. He would be able to make her understand his reasoning. This was his way of trying to make up for the sacrifice that he was going to ask her to make for him in return.

"They are in here." Hilda yelled to the others. "I think she said yes….because we are gonna need a crow bar to separate them."

Daniel and Betty pulled away from each other. "Hilda…" Betty kept her head buried in his neck. "Stop."

"What? You two are the one in here having dessert while we are in there, having dessert," said Hilda.

Daniel chuckled. "She has a point."

He heard the clicking of heels on the floor. "MARC AND I ARE GOING TO LEAVE NOW, DANIEL. WE ARE SO HAPPY FOR YOU….EVEN THOUGH MARC DID VOMIT A LITTLE IN ONE OF THE HOUSEPLANTS." Amanda shouted.

"Amanda…Remember he's blind, not deaf. No more drinks for you," said Marc. "Come on before you embarrass yourself anymore."

"I'll show you out." Hilda started for the door. "I think these lovebirds need some time together."

"MARC, I WONDER WHAT THEIR PUPPIES ARE GOING TO LOOK LIKE," said Amanda loudly.

"Amanda…," said Marc. "Keep it down."

"It's fine. I'm sure that Marc and Amanda know the way out." Betty kissed him on the cheek and cuddled closer. Daniel began to bring his hand underneath Betty's sweater.

"It's no problem." Hilda laughed. Daniel heard the trio start toward the front hall.

"Is she gone?" Daniel asked Betty.

"Yes. She ran out of her pants were on fire." Daniel moved in and started kissing Betty's neck.

"Alone again…" He whispered in her ear.

"Are you ever going to get enough?" Betty giggled as his hand traveled underneath her sweater. His fingers moved along her bare skin, making Daniel feel weak and hungry for more. "Daniel…" She laughed. "That tickles."

"I think we need to go home." Daniel couldn't keep his hands off her. It was like he was addicted to his sense of touch. The way her skin felt against his finger tips.

"Don't you want dessert?" Betty asked. "I think that Amanda smuggled a pan of flan out of here…but I know that Papi made extra."

"I want dessert but I'm not hungry for flan, Betty. That's why I think we need to go home before I embarrass us both on this couch." Daniel said plainly. "I think I need to finish my dessert in the privacy of our own home."

"Daniel…I love you." Betty giggled, as she met his lips again.

"I love you too, Betty."

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreciate them. We have a bit of a time jump in this chapter (and probably some of the future chapters.) It is no guess that our favorite couple is going to be tested during their time apart. Have faith though. :)_

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**3 weeks later….. **

For the past three weeks, Betty did want any normal woman who was going to be separated from the man she loved would do. She spent every second that she could with Daniel, trying to make the most of every second they had together.

From their quiet dinners at home, to spending time with their families to cuddling up on the couch together, she found herself getting further and further immersed into their little world.

As the days went by, Betty prayed daily that his sight would return before Daniel boarded the plane for Chicago. However, luck was no on their side and instead of having another week of romantic bliss with her new fiancée, Betty, was helping him pack for his flight that would be leaving tomorrow.

While Betty prepared him for his journey, she knew that she was not even close to being prepared for the separation from him. She was terrified that something was going to come between them in their time apart.

"I wish that you didn't have to leave so soon. I feel cheated." Betty placed Daniel's black suit in his garment bag, just in case, he needed it. Not that he should have much call for a designer suit where he was going. She figured that it was better to be prepared for anything he might need for the next 13 weeks than to be caught unprepared. "You weren't supposed to go for another week."

"Honey, we've been through this and you agreed that it would be better for me to get some extra time to settle in before the program starts." Daniel sat on their brand new king size bed, which had only been delivered two days ago. Now, it was barely going to get any use before she would have to sleep in it all by herself.

She could already feel the emptiness creeping in and it hurt like hell.

"Tell me what's on your mind, Betty. We have to be honest with one another. No secrets."

Oh…but Betty had a secret and it was only making her insecurity worse.

Betty sank down on the edge of the firm mattress. "I know that we agreed. I realize that you probably think I'm ridiculous."

"You aren't. I know how hard this is for you. It's difficult for me too. I have to do this." Daniel moved closer to her.

"It's just such a long time, Daniel. And I feel like as soon as you leave, everything is just going to fall apart and this…." She felt like she couldn't breathe him.

Betty gazed down at the perfect diamond engagement ring on her finger. Suddenly, it didn't fit as well as perfectly as it had three weeks earlier. Now, it felt like it was going to cut off her circulation.

She felt Daniel's hand land lightly on her shoulder. "What?"

"I feel like everything is just going to fall apart." Betty took a deep breath and fought the tears. She didn't want Daniel to know exactly how upset she was.

He kissed her on the side of her head. "This is just the beginning for you…and for us." Daniel drew his arm around her, pulling her towards him. "And you are coming to see me for Valentine's Day in 4 weeks…and then the month after that for a few days…and then the last time that you come to visit, you get to bring me home and then…we are going to get married."

Of course, Betty knew all of this. Their wedding date was already set. The invitations were being printed. She had even picked out her dress. They were having a small intimate ceremony with only their close family and friends in attendance. The only details that hadn't been settled was the honeymoon, which had to be postponed because her final YETI project was due, the week after the wedding.

"Can't you call them and tell them that you would rather wait until you can get into the program here in New York?" Betty pleaded with him, as she was overcome with the feeling that it was a bad idea for him to leave.

"You know that I can't do that," said Daniel. "You know I can't do that," said Daniel. "Molly pulled a lot of strings to get me in this soon. If I have to wait for a spot to open up here, it could be another six months. I just don't want to wait that long. The sooner that I get through this, the sooner that we can start our lives together….I just don't want to be a burden to you. That is no way to start a marriage."

"Being apart isn't either. We need this time together, Daniel."

Over the past few weeks, Betty had tried her best to not feel threatened by Molly's presence, as she helped with the arrangements for Daniel's stay in Chicago. After all, Daniel was constantly telling her…and showing her that he loved only her.

However, there was still a part of her that couldn't get passed….the past. She wanted to see the best in everyone and Molly was no exception. The only thing Betty saw now was the woman that had tried to take Daniel away from her. It didn't even matter, if it had been unintentional.

Matters were made worse when a few days ago, Molly told Daniel that she needed to leave earlier than expected. It was agreed that he would go and she would help him get settled into her temporary accommodations while Betty was stuck here going to a YETI function that Jodie wouldn't let her out of. It was enough for her to make her quit all together and go to Chicago anyway.

"Daniel, it's just 13 weeks is a long time….and Molly will be there."

"Is this about Molly?" Daniel said plainly.

Betty pulled her hand away and crossed her arms. "Yes. It is."

"Betty, she is only a friend," Daniel sighed. "A good friend."

"Maybe…but so was I." Betty pulled her eyes away from him. "I was your friend before this…"

"You can't compare the two, Betty. I don't feel this way about her. I'm marrying you." Betty could see that Daniel was getting very upset. "And she knows that."

"Daniel, she is moving back to Chicago. I don't think that is a coincidence." There Betty had said what she had been thinking and now she knew that she needed to get the rest out also. "I saw the security DVD from MODE. I saw what happened in The Closet with you and Molly."

Betty had run across it when she was organizing some of Daniel's things. She didn't want to watch it because of her experience when it came to Daniel and security footage. She couldn't help it though. Her insecurity took over and she just had to see it. She wasn't prepared for what she had seen though.

No. It wasn't some sex tape. It did, however show the obvious attraction between him and Molly. Daniel had told Betty that it had been a mistake and she believed him until she saw it for herself.

"Betty, it's…" She could hear the regret in his tone.

"It was a mistake. I've heard it again and again. You really had feelings for her. Didn't you?"

Betty tried to hold back her tears but she couldn't. She loved Daniel so much but right now, it hurt. It was true. That tape had been made before she and Daniel were together….but it was only a few days before, Daniel had asked her to Wilhelmina's party.

It wasn't out of the realm of imagination that Daniel still had feelings for Molly when he began to romance her on their bridge. And even though Betty loved Daniel and wanted to marry him, was it possible that he was only moving so fast because he felt obligated to her for taking care of him? Or that he was trying to run away from his feeling for one of her best friends fiancée?

Betty knew all these things were impossible. Or were they? Her insecurity were running high since the day she saw that DVD. Since then, she tried to forget it by concentrating on Daniel and their time together. However, the painful truth was that she couldn't forget it.

"Betty, you know I love you."

"Daniel, I can't do this now." Betty got up from her seat on the bed and made her way into the living room. "I have to go finish getting your things packed. Molly will be here early in the morning to take you to the airport."

"Aren't you coming the airport with me?" Daniel asked.

She didn't answer though, as she walked down the hall into the bathroom and closed the door. Behind the door, she finally let the tears escape her eyes.

Betty gazed over to the mirror on the opposite wall. Her reflection stared back at her and she knew that there was no way that she could ever compete with Molly.

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	17. Chapter 17

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreciate them. _

**Chapter 16**

* * *

Since Daniel had lost his sight, there were two things that drove Daniel crazy about Betty. The first was when she got quiet when he was talking to her. How he missed being able to see her sweet face to tell what was running through her mind?

The second was when she walked away from him, leaving him alone, especially when she was upset with him because he did or said something stupid, which seemed to be at least once a day.

This time, Daniel knew that he deserved this and he couldn't fault Betty for being upset. He should have been more open with her about what happened in The Closet that night with Molly and how he had initially felt about it. He should have also told her about how he had used her as an excuse to avoid any future encounters with Molly.

However, that small lie had led Daniel to the discovery of his feelings for Betty. If not for that night in The Closet, he had to wonder how long it would have taken him and Betty to realize they were in love with each other.

In all honesty, he knew now more than ever what he felt for Molly couldn't be compared to what he felt for Betty. Betty was his soul mate…his true love…and his best friend. And there was no way that he could just sit there on the bed and let her run away.

Daniel hesitated for a moment, as he reached for the cane that Betty had put on his side of the bed. It was an instrument that he didn't like using. And as much as he was ready to accept his disability, he felt like using that cane meant that he had given up the bit of hope that he had of getting his sight back.

Right now, he knew that he didn't have a choice. He had to use it to get to Betty and talk about this, even if it meant stumbling over furniture on the way. There was no way that he could just leave her here thinking that he and Molly were off in Chicago having some illicit affair, while she was here in New York, upset.

If Betty felt like this now, how was she going to feel in 13 weeks? Would they even have a relationship or would the time, distance and their insecurity tear them apart?

Daniel knew that he had to take action. This was the second time that Betty had felt threatened by Molly. He knew that some action was necessary now to show her how committed that he was to their relationship and their life together.

The engagement ring obviously wasn't enough. It was time for other options to be explored.

He slowly made his way out of the bedroom and down the long hall. "Betty…" There was nothing but silence, making Daniel wonder if she had left him. Of course, he also knew that Betty would never actually do that, given his current state.

The further he got, the more terrified that he got. "Betty…" He called again. His heart was thumping loudly inside his chest.

He heard a door open. "Betty…"

"Daniel, I'm right here." Her tone was flat.

"Betty, we need to talk about this," said Daniel.

"There isn't anything to talk about. I overreacted," Betty started to move past him. Her words said one thing and her tone told Daniel another. "I'm fine now."

"I disagree." Daniel captured her arm. "I still think we need to talk about this. It's obviously bothering you."

"Daniel, if you want Molly, go for it. I'm not going to stop you." Betty said plainly. "I would just appreciate the heads-up, so that I don't get in any deeper than I already am."

"I don't want her." Daniel said angrily. He knew that it had come out harsh but he needed to get it across to her. He had no interest in Molly at all.

"I find that hard to believe." Betty said softly. "She's blonde. She's pretty. She's a lot more beautiful than me."

"Betty…" His heart sunk.

"You are beautiful," said Daniel.

"Daniel, I have braces."

"They will come off. In fact, I think it's probably time for them come off. I think Dr. Farkas is ripping you off."

"Well, I'm a mess. I'm…." Betty's voice shook. "I'm not what everyone thinks you should marry. Just a few days ago, I was getting my wedding dress. I overheard the sales girl laughing that rumors must be true about you being blind since you were marrying me. It also didn't help that she said that she hooked up with you at a club opening last year."

Now, Daniel was getting somewhere. "So this isn't just about Molly?"

"I don't really care what that woman said. It's just the reminders of all the beautiful woman you have been with are just everywhere," said Betty. "But of all of them, Molly bothers me the most. I dont know why...""

"I can't change my past. The only thing I can do is try to make a better future and I want to do that with you, Betty. You are more beautiful than any of them."

"I don't know about that."

Daniel leaned his cane against the wall and reached out of Betty. "Tell me what I have to do to prove to you that you are the only woman who I'm ever going to love for the rest of my life."

"Do you have feelings for her, Daniel? I just need you to be honest with me." Betty kept her voice low.

Daniel knew that he couldn't lie about it. Lying about it would just lead to more hurt. He needed to tell Betty the truth, so they could get passed this.

"Yes….I mean, I thought I did," said Daniel. "It was just a stupid crush. The day after it happened, I knew that it was a mistake but honestly, I don't regret that it happened."

"I don't understand."

"Betty, it led me to you," said Daniel. "I'm not proud of that moment but without it, both of us would still be clueless about how we feel about each other."

"I'm sorry. I just…"

Daniel cut her off. "Betty, you have nothing to be sorry about. I should have been honest with you. And I should have known better than to let Molly help."

"I didn't mind her helping with the arrangements. I appreciated that. It's …"

"Tell me." He brought his hands to her cheek.

"She is moving to Chicago. She is going to see you more than me and I'm not comfortable with that, given the circumstances."

"Okay." Daniel understood.

"Okay?"

"I won't see her again," said Daniel. It was that simple for him. His love for Betty meant much more than his friendship with Molly.

"Really…it's just like that."

"Yes. It is. I won't do anything that would cost me what we have together," said Daniel. "I told you that I need you and I will do whatever it takes to make sure we stay together. I'm just going to have to stay here in New York."

"What about Chicago? The program."

"I'm going to call and tell them I'll wait for something to open up here in New York," said Daniel.

"Daniel, that could be months from now. You need to go." Betty's voice was laced with emotion. Her hands encircled his waist, as she pulled herself against his chest.

"Not if it means losing you." He shook his head, as he hugged her close.

"You aren't going to lose me," said Betty.

"Betty, you should go with me."

"I didn't think that I could."

"Well, you could go, if we were married," said Daniel.

"We aren't married." Betty pointed out

"We could get married tonight…or tomorrow," said Daniel. "I'm sure that I could have my mom pull a few strings. I'm sure that I could delay my trip for a day or two, especially if I'm bringing my wife with me."

"Daniel, this is crazy," said Betty. "I'm fine. We don't have to get married now."

"Yes, we do." He said insistently. "I don't think I can wait 15 weeks….that's almost four months to marry you."

"Well, you are going to have to, Daniel." Betty took a deep breath. "You don't need me there holding your hand."

"I'm always going to need you to hold my hand," said Daniel. "We are partners and the more I really think about it. I'm going to need your support."

"This will make us stronger," said Betty. "If we can get through this, we can get through anything."

"Exactly." Daniel agreed. "Of course, I can't say that I'm not disappointed that you won't marry me now."

"Well, it's not like I can just leave. I have YETI and I know that you want me to do well in that." He felt Betty toying with the buttons on his shirt, as he pinned her against this wall.

"I do…but honestly, I don't think you are going to need it. You are so much smarter than most of those people. I have a feeling you aren't going to need YETI to succeed."

Daniel knew that papers were being drawn up to transfer half of his shares of Meade Publications over to Betty, as soon as she became his wife.

"That's easy for you to say. You were born a Meade," said Betty. "It's not that easy for the rest of us."

"I have to point out that if you marry me, you will be a Meade too. That comes with a lot of power in this business."

"I'm not marrying you because of your name, Daniel." Betty was obviously put off by his words because she tried to push away. "Or your money."

"Why are you marrying me?" Daniel asked her, even though he knew what her answer would be.

"Because I love you." Betty said simply.

Daniel knew that there was no way that he was going to get on that plane without Betty. There was no way that he was going to allow for her to stay here in New York and let her insecurity over Molly brew for months.

"Good because I love you too." Daniel said seriously. "And we are getting married before we leave for Chicago and I'm not going to take no for an answer."

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	18. Chapter 18

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you so much for the feedback on the last chapter. I apologize for the delay in posting, as a few of you know there was a death in the family. With the holiday and this, it has been hard to concentrate on anything. _

* * *

_**Chapter 18**_

Betty lifted the heavy box that contained her belongings that were stacked in the corner of her old room, over the bed. After all, she needed something to do to occupy her mind, while Daniel was down stairs talking to her father about their new plan.

It had been almost an hour now. What could they be talking about? It shouldn't be taking this long.

She opened the box, hoping that this was the box that she had packed away those extra scarves that she wanted to take with her to Chicago. As she dug through the box, her eyes fell upon her teddy bear, Poquito. The bear that her mother had given her as a little girl and that Betty wanted to pass down to her child someday.

Then, it occurred to her that now that she and Daniel were getting married, that child would belong to her and Daniel.

_How crazy what that thought?_

Over a month ago, she was wondering what kind of bagel he wanted. Now, she was suddenly thinking about what their child would look like. Would it be a boy or a girl? Would they have blue eyes or brown? Would they look more like a Suarez or a Meade….or a mixture of both?

And she wondered how soon that Daniel would want that, even with the circumstances they had been dealt. Before the accident, she knew that Daniel wanted a family. She could still remember the look on Daniel's face when he had to let DJ go back to France and the void that it had left in Daniel's life. Now that she would be Daniel's wife. Would he want her to fill that void? Not that she didn't want to, someday.

It was true. He had emphasized how much he wanted her to pursue her career but how long would it be before he wanted her to give him a child and give him an heir to his family's legacy.

Betty realized that she and Daniel had a lot to talk about. And they would soon but now, she needed to find those scarves, so she and Daniel go back home and finish packing and making preparations for their impromptu ceremony, before they left for the airport tomorrow.

She placed the bear down on the bed and continued her search.

"Hey…" There was a knock at the door. Betty turned to see Hilda walk into the room.

"I thought that Daniel's plane was supposed to leave this morning." Hilda asked inquisitively.

"Uh…yeah. Well, something came up and we are leaving tomorrow evening," Betty reached into the bottom of the box and found the purple scarf that she was looking for.

"What kind of things?" Hilda asked curiously.

"Just some stuff." Betty didn't know if she should tell Hilda everything about the recent doubts she had about Daniel having feelings for Molly, the DVD…and now Daniel's insistence that they get married.

"What's Daniel talking to Papi about? They have been down there for almost 30 minutes" Hilda asked. "Kind of late to ask for his permission to ask you to marry him."

"It's not that." Betty was trying her best not to open the can of worms until she knew the results of the conversation that Daniel was having with her father about them getting married. "Well, not entirely."

"Something is up….Wait, did you say that we are leaving….you are going to Chicago with Daniel," said Hilda. "I thought he couldn't take you with him."

Betty should have known that Hilda would catch that little slip and have the ability to see right through her. There was no use in denying it now.

"Yes. I am going with him" Betty nodded. "I have to go with him. It's for the best. Being apart for 13 weeks would be really difficult on both of us right now. He needs me and….and I need him. So…we are getting married before we leave tomorrow."

"You are getting married tomorrow." Hilda said. "Why the hurry? What about the wedding that Justin has been obsessing about since the day you accepted Daniel's proposal?

"We will still have that wedding. It's just something came up and we just need to make this official right away."

"Oh My God! You're pregnant." Hilda said loudly.

"What?" Daniel's voice rang out.

Betty and Hilda turned to see her father and Daniel standing there. Daniel's face filled with panic.

"Pregnant." Daniel repeated. His face filled with panic.

"Daniel…" Betty moved quickly across the room to Daniel's side.

"I think that Hilda and I need to go down stairs," said Ignacio. "So…the two of you can talk?"

"I want to hear this." Hilda smiled.

"Hilda…we need to give them some privacy," Ignacio pulled Hilda towards the door.

A few seconds later, her father and Hilda left the room and closed the door behind him. She and Daniel stood there in silence.

"Betty, are you pregnant?" She reached for his arm, leading him over to the bed. She moved the box quickly out of his way.

"No…No. I'm not pregnant." She assured him, as he sat him down on the edge of the bed. "Hilda was just jumping to conclusions about the situation. She thought that we were moving the wedding up because we were having a baby."

"Oh…I guess that it would be easy to assume that." Daniel seemed to relax, as he let out a calming breath. "Wow…I'm so glad that you aren't pregnant. I thought that I was going to have a heart attack for a second there. A baby is the last thing that we would ever need."

Betty felt a sudden pain in her heart that matched the pain in his tone. "Don't you want a baby…someday? I thought you wanted…"

He cut in. "Betty, you need to concentrate on your career. As soon as we get back from Chicago, you will be going back to Meade and you will be amazed at what will be waiting for you. I promise you that you are going to get everything you ever dreamed of. Anyway, you are still young. You have plenty of time for…the rest, if you want it. I don't think we should rush these things."

"I don't want some special job. I want to be your assistant. I want us to stay a team," Betty rested her hands on his shoulders.

"I'm not going to hold you back, Betty." He paused for a moment and she wondered what was going through her mind. "We are a team but once we are married, we will be a different kind of team. Besides, we both know that I'm never going to be able to do that job again," said Daniel. "How am I supposed to have an eye for fashion when I can't see?"

"You don't know that. You don't know if it's possible, if you don't try. Once you get through with this program, you are going to be able to do a lot of things again."

Though Daniel would always have her to help him, this program was going to help him be more self-sufficient.

"Yes. I know but there will still be many things that I'll probably never be comfortable with. The only thing that matters to me is that I have you." Daniel reached forward, pulling her toward him.

"What did Papi say about our plans? Betty asked.

"He was actually very supportive. In fact, he thought that it was a great idea that I have my new wife by my side through this experience," said Daniel. "It would make things easier."

"So…we are going to do this." Betty asked eagerly. Despite all the thoughts and emotions she was experiencing, the one thing that she knew was that being Daniel's wife was the right thing. Once she was his wife, all those insecurities and feelings would manage to resolve itself.

But not only was she experience a range of emotions, it was clear that as hopeful as Daniel tried to sound. He obviously didn't see things the same as he did before the accident.

Betty knew that he needed Daniel needed her help to show him that life would go on for them. This 12 week program was just the beginning. It would give him the tools that he need to begin his progress back toward getting his life back.

It was the beginning of his journey back to taking his place at Meade Publications and that despite the disability he was more than capable of having a fulfilling career, being a loving husband and someday, a father to their children. She just had to show him that if he wanted something bad enough, anything was possible. She just had to make him believe again.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. Once again, I appreciate them so much and thank you for your patience with the updates. _

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**Four weeks later…**

It had been four weeks since he and Betty had exchanged vows in a simple ceremony and became husband and wife in the presences of their families, just a few hours before their flight took off for their 13 weeks in Chicago.

When they left New York with Betty as his wife, he felt the glimmer of hope that lasted for a few days. Those first couple days were amazing. Instead of keeping them contained in the small apartment they would call home during their stay, he put them up in the honeymoon suite, where they barely left the bed the entire time.

It was just the two of them. In those days, Daniel found himself getting lost in Betty and the promises that he made to her in his wedding vows and the promises that he made to her father about how he was going to do the best he could to take care of her. During those few days with Betty in his arms, Daniel was almost convinced that it was possible.

Almost a month later, Daniel wasn't sure that he had done the right thing. Each day, he would go off and try to put his life back together, so that he could be the best husband for Betty. However, he was failing miserably.

The program was harder than he thought and though it tried to absorb some of Betty's optimism and keep trying but each day he came home and he felt like nothing but a failure.

Every day, he would come home feeling like she deserved so much more than what he could give her. He needed her more than ever. And that was the problem as much as he wanted her and needed her, he wanted so many great things for her.

She would have been better off staying in New York and finishing out her YETI program. It would be more fun for her than being his nurse and his caregiver. All Daniel could see now was that her life would be consumed by it. Sure…it wouldn't happen right away. It would happen a little at a time. She would make one sacrifice and then another….and then another…until she was only a shell of the Betty that he loved.

The more he thought about it, the more depressed he became.

What kind of life was this for her, if he couldn't even manage for himself? Not being able to take care of himself, meant that he couldn't truly take care of her…which meant the family that he had once hoped for was out of the question.

It was bad enough he was regretting stealing Betty's life away from her. He would not bring a child into it.

"I don't smell smoke tonight." Daniel tried to tease her, despite his mournful mood. The smell of chicken crossed Daniel's nose had replacing the smell of smoke from last night's burnt dinner. Daniel still couldn't figure out how Betty could burn pasta. Pasta that was only half-cooked and crunchy.

"Very funny. I'm getting better." Betty placed her hand on his shoulder. "Maybe, you could give cooking a shot one night."

"I…uh…don't know about that," said Daniel.

"Isn't that one of the things they are going to teach you?" Betty asked.

"Yeah…but not for a while." Daniel knew that attempting anything like that would only lead to disaster.

"Well, we can practice. It could be fun." She said optimistically. "Something we could do together…because I obviously don't know how to cook either."

"We'll just cross that bridge when we get to it. I don't think I'm there yet." Daniel wished that he could be as optimistic as his wife. It was useless. Despite her attempts, he felt himself slipping deeper and deeper into the darkness.

"You will. So…how was your day?" Betty asked him, as she placed the plate down in front of him.

"It was okay." He reached over for his fork and it fell to the floor. He let out a sigh of frustration.

"I'll get it." Betty reached down and retrieved it, moving a few feet over to the small kitchen to get another one. She placed it down on the table.

"Just okay." Betty said plainly. "Are you sure? That didn't sound very convincing"

"Yeah. I mean, no…" He said simply. The last thing he wanted to do was discuss his many failures of the day. "Just another day, I guess."

"Did you learn anything at all?" Betty asked curiously, taking her seat across from him. "I really want to know."

What was he supposed to say? There was no way that she could really help him. He had to do the work and it was impossible. What was he supposed to tell her? He was never going to get the hang of anything. He was going to be stuck like this forever and with every passing day, he was having his doubts about sticking Betty in this life with him. And that his regrets had nothing to do with the fact that he didn't love her more than his own life. It was because he loved her that he wanted more for her.

"Daniel..." She touched his hand. "What happened?"

"I can't do this, Betty."

"You can't do what?"

"Just everything, Betty." He was filled with frustration. "All of this stuff…this program is a waste of time…impossible."

"Nothing is impossible. I'm here to help you. What do you need help with? I wish you would talk to me about it more but you never want to talk about it…"

Daniel pulled his hand away from hers and cut in. "Well, did you ever thing that maybe I don't want to talk about it, Betty."

"Daniel…"

He pushed away his plate. "I don't want to hear about how everything is going to work out and how I just have to keep trying. The pep talks aren't going to work."

"It can't be that bad. It's going to take time," said Betty. "Anyway, you said yourself that the 12 week program was just the beginning."

"I said I don't want to hear it." Daniel said adamantly. "You have no idea what this is like. You don't know what it's like not being able to see."

"I'm trying to help you. That's why I'm here," said Betty.

"But there is no way that you can understand. Not really…" Daniel was on the verge of tears. "Stepping in front of that car was the biggest mistake of my life."

"Of course…it was." Her voice remained low and it shook with emotion. "How stupid of me?"

_God…why did he say that? He was such an idiot._

"Betty…"

He heard her chair push out against the wood floor. "No…" She sobbed, as left her seat and moved over to the kitchen. He could hear the sounds of her sniffles behind him.

Daniel felt terrible. He knew that he had hurt her and that was the last thing that he ever wanted to do. He had let his own frustrations get away with him and taken it out on the one person that he could count on.

As he got up, he slowly made his way towards the sound of her sobs. He moved towards her until he finally was able to move in behind her.

"I'm sorry." He whispered against her hair, as he moved his arms down her arms to her waist.

She still didn't say anything. The only sound was the sound of her tears.

"Betty, I'm an idiot."

"Why wouldn't you let me help you? I thought we were supposed to be a team," said Betty sorrowfully. He felt her turn around to face him. "Why do you keep shutting me out?"

Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "It…" He knew there was so much to say.

"Do you regret marrying me? Because…I thought that everything was so great when we were on our honeymoon. Since then, I've felt you getting further and further away from me. I just don't feel connected to you anymore. It's like you are here…but you aren't here."

"There is just so much to say. I don't even know where to start," said Daniel hesitantly.

He felt her hands on his cheeks. "Anywhere….I just want my husband."

"I can't help but thing that you made a mistake marrying me, Betty."

"That's crazy. I love you." She quickly confirmed. Not that he needed it. He had no doubt that she loved him.

"Yeah…but I am having my doubts putting you into this situation," said Daniel. "I shouldn't have rushed this whole marriage thing."

"So…you don't want to be married to me." Betty's hands fell to her side.

"Of course, I do. I know that I rushed this because I didn't want you to be insecure about Molly….and that was the wrong reason to rush things," said Daniel. "We should have taken more time to think this through. I hate that you are going to be stuck taking care of me. I can tell you that right now. I don't see much of a future for us."

"Daniel, you aren't making any sense."

"Betty, the only future I see is one where you are taking care of me."

"We have a lot to look forward to, Daniel. What about children? I mean…someday. Not right now. That's something to look forward too. I know how much you want them."

"I don't want them, Betty. It wouldn't be fair to them. It's not like I would ever be able to see them…and I don't think I could handle that." He felt the emotion boiling up in his chest. "Plus, I'm not doing very well with this program and I don't want you to have to take care of me. I keep getting those headaches and the last thing that I want is to play nurse to me. You have such a bright future."

"Daniel, I just want you." She cried sorrowfully.

"I want you too…but sometimes, we can't get everything that we want."

"What are you saying, Daniel?" Betty's voice was barely audible.

"I'm saying that I think that it would be better for you to go back to New York," said Daniel.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Love is Blind**

Author's Note: Thank you for feedback and comments. I realize that things were rough in the last chapter. Hold onto your hats for this one too. Keep the faith though.

* * *

**Chapter 20**

Betty walked down the sidewalk near their apartment, as the wind whipped through the trees and the sun was getting ready to set. As the wind sent a chill through her, she regretted not bringing her coat with her when she left their apartment an hour ago.

To be honest it was the last thing on her already overloaded mind when she made an impromptu choice to get out of that apartment before the walls closed in on her. Betty's mind continued to reel with the revelations of tonight's conversation.

Daniel wanted her to go back to New York, almost like the last four weeks had never happened. He kept telling her that he was only doing this for her own good and not because he didn't love her. But had he forgotten that only four weeks ago, they had vowed to love each other for better or for worse.

Betty never expected that things would get this bad so fast. It didn't take a genius to see Daniel's mounting frustration since they had gotten here and he begun the program. And right now, he felt like a failure.

_A complete and utter failure. _

Betty had done everything she could to help him and make his life easier. She had done the research and was eager to learn. All her attempts to assist were blocked by Daniel. He was adamant that he show her and everyone else that he could do this on his own.

So, Betty tried to be the best wife possible in other ways. She made sure that he didn't go hungry. Though, her attempts to cook were disastrous. Even their sex life had taken a sharp nose dive in the last week when Daniel had been unable to rise to the occasion.

Now, it all made sense to Betty. Daniel was suffering from a case of depression over his condition. He had even given up on any hope of attaining of a dream of having a family someday. Not that she wanted a family now…but when she married Daniel she knew that his dream had suddenly become hers.

At least, when the time was right for them.

Two weeks ago, he had asked her to get a prescription for the pill. She even agreed to his request, knowing that the timing wasn't right for a baby. Her appointment was next week.

Now, he wanted her to leave and go back to New York. Could she do that though? Would that mean that she was just giving up on their marriage and the love that she knew they shared.

If she went back defeated, what did it mean for their future? Would it also mean losing any friendship with him too? How could they go back to being friends when they….even if it was for a short time…had been so much more than that?

Should she let him do this on his own like they had initially planned? Maybe, he needed to work through whatever he was going through on his own because it was clear that he didn't want her or need her here.

In fact, he even regretted stepping out in front of that car to save her. Perhaps, he realized that she would always be a reminder of what he had lost when he had taken those fateful steps and changed his life forever.

As she made her way up the path to their apartment building, she knew that leaving would be the easiest thing to do. The hardest would to stay and fight for their marriage and allow him to push her away. She remembered Hilda's words about the fact that Betty needed to fight for the man she loved and that was exactly what she planned to do.

If Daniel thought she was going anywhere, he was out of his mind. There was no way that she was giving up, even if he was. She would fight him all the way, kicking and screaming if she had too.

By the time that Betty got to the door, she was filled to the brim with confidence that they could make it, despite this hard time.

When Betty entered the apartment, she found it quiet. The plates were still on the table. The food was untouched. Betty looked around for Daniel. She moved closer to the bedroom and suddenly, she could hear two voices coming from the bedroom.

At first, she thought it was the television or the radio. The closer she got though; she realized that it was Daniel and someone else. She moved over to the door to see who the other voice belong too.

She peeked inside and saw the source of the second voice and it sent a pain through her heart and her entire body. It was Molly and Daniel.

Molly and Daniel were standing in front of the closet. He was shirtless and she was standing in front of him.

"Did you tell her?" Molly asked.

"Some of it…but I just couldn't tell her everything. I've hurt her enough." Daniel said sorrowfully. "You know how she feels about me being around you…given our history."

"I guess you can't blame her there." Molly removed the shirt from the hanger.

"It would be better for her to go back to New York. So, I can figure this thing out…."

"I think you should just be honest with her, Daniel. Putting it off is only going to make things worse and the more hurt you are going to cause her." Molly placed her hand on Daniel's bare chest and his hands went to her waist.

"I really can't thank you enough for everything, Molly."

Betty couldn't take anymore, as she felt the tears threaten and her heart break. She pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Yes...I think someone better bet honest with me."

"Betty…." Daniel dropped his hands away from Molly's waist, like she was on fire.

"What's going on, Daniel?" It was no use to fight the tears because they were already streaming down her face. "Why are you in our bedroom with her? Why are you…." Her voice shook.

She couldn't even say it out loud. It made nauseous. The image of their embrace, the kiss from the night of the accident and the DVD were burned into her eternal memory and Betty felt like nothing would ever be right again.

"Let me explain." Molly stepped away from Daniel, as well.

Betty wanted to show Molly, just how things like this are taken care of where she comes from. She didn't know if she could though. All the confidence that she had moments ago had suddenly drained out of her and had left nothing but pain now.

"I don't need an explanation, "said Betty.

"Fine….I…uh…think I'll just leave." Molly slipped out of the bedroom door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Daniel." After Molly left, there was nothing but silence.

"Betty, you need to let me explain everything."

"Nothing is going to fix this, Daniel. I get it. Our marriage was a mistake. I was a mistake. I'll pack my things and do what you want. I'll go back to New York and get on with my life…and try to put the pieces back together. It's obvious that Molly is what you wanted all along."

"We were just talking." Daniel said anxiously.

"Sure…whatever. She had her hands on you…and you on her. If I had come along two minutes later, she probably would have had you on the bed. I'm sure that things will work just fine with her," said Betty harshly. "If you know what I mean…you aren't interested in me."

"That's not true. Betty, I would never do that to you. Nothing happened." He snapped back. "We were talking. That is all."

"Well, I'm glad that you can open up to someone because as soon as our honeymoon was over, you just closed up and you haven't let me in since," said Betty. "I just can't live like this. I try and try…and I feel like a failure, Daniel."

"You aren't a failure. I am the failure here. I can't be what you want me to be. You deserve so much better." Daniel tried to move closer to her. She couldn't look at him. "Don't go. I was stupid."

As he got closer, Betty backed away. "Daniel, I really don't want to hear it. You and Molly can be together now. I'm not going to stop you. All I ask is that you let me pack my things and I'll be gone tonight. We can sort out everything else when you return to New York and I can have a rational conversation about this."

She added. "Until then….I just can't."

"Betty, please…" He pleaded. "I don't want to wait until I get back to New York.I don't want you to go at all."

"Daniel, I was ready to fight for you and our marriage. Now, I just see that it would be a waste of time." Betty turned and left the room, unable to look at Daniel.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the comments. I appreciate it. I know the last chapter was a tough one. Also, thank you for your patience over the past week. _

**Chapter 20**

* * *

Daniel sat alone in the living room. In the bedroom, he heard Betty packing her things for her flight to New York, which would be leaving in only a matter of hours. The sound of the drawers being slammed and her clothes being ripped off the hanger were a painful reminder of the dark days ahead.

And he had no one to blame but himself for the events of this night. Or even the events of the past few weeks.

There was no way that he could blame Betty for leaving. After all, he had asked her too. It was an action that Daniel regretted as soon as she left for the walk to clear her head. Because to be honest, the moment she walked out the door. He felt the light that she had brought into his life, fade quickly into the darkness.

That's why he was going to find her and tell her that he didn't want her to leave.

Before he could leave though and attempt to go find her, Molly had shown up unexpectedly to check on him, after the horrible day that he had. In retrospect, Daniel should have realized that allowing her to help him find another shirt and help him get dressed was a bad idea. At this point, he realized that he would have been better off making fool of himself in one of Betty's colorful blouses than to have the night end up worse than it already had been. After all, they had been bad enough before Molly showed up.

He had to try to make this right, if he didn't. He would regret it for the rest of his life. In fact, Daniel was sure that he didn't want to go on without her. Why did he always have mess things up? Why couldn't things be simple?

Daniel rose from the couch, grabbing his cane and made his way toward the bedroom. Once he reached the doorway, he heard Betty crying. His heart broke because he had done this to her.

"Betty, please let me explain…" Daniel felt his own eyes welling up with tears.

"I told you that I don't want to talk to you, Daniel."

He moved forward, despite her tone that he was not welcome into the room. "If you think I'm going to let you just leave…."

"It's what you want." Betty said tearfully.

"I was wrong." Daniel's heart ached. The hurt in her voice was evident. "I want you to stay…please. I can't live without you."

"I am sure that you will manage, Daniel. I'm sure Molly will help you. She seems to be pretty good at that," said Betty.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that Molly was working with me at the center. I was surprised when she showed up the first week. I didn't want to hurt you but I really had no control over the situation. I wanted to do better for you and I knew that it would hurt you to know she was there." Daniel came to rest on the edge of the bed beside her. "Please don't leave. We could get some couples counseling. We can fix this."

"It's too late, Daniel. We have both failed miserably here. I don't think that I'm ever going to be able to get passed the whole Molly thing. Every time, she is around. It leads to disaster. The first time, I saw her kiss you on that sidewalk….it lead to the accident. And then, it was on thing after another. It would just be better for us to move on."

"Please…" Daniel said hopelessly. "I'll do whatever you want. We can have a baby. I was stupid before. I think that…"

"No. I am not going to bring a child into this. It won't fix anything. It will only make things worse. You said you didn't want a child and if you want one now, you are just going to have to go somewhere else. I don't want a child with a man that doesn't know what he wants."

"Betty, you know I want a family." He reached over and touched her arm. She quickly pulled her arm away. "I'm just scared."

"Well, you should have said something before everything got this bad. The only thing that I've been trying to do since we got here is be a good wife to you and help you. You've shut me out though even though I kept trying to get through to you." She got up from her spot beside him. It was clear she didn't want to be near him at all. Her frustration radiated through the room. "I just …..I just can't do this anymore. I am always going to wonder whether I'm just your second choice because Molly wasn't immediately available to you."

"She is just a friend. I don't want her." Daniel said plainly. "I've told you that."

"Your actions tell me otherwise. Maybe, you don't mean them too. I really don't know. I just know that I can't live like this anymore. It's better for us to just cut our ties with each other," said Betty.

"No…" Daniel said forcefully. "I need you, Betty."

"You don't need me, Daniel. The only thing you really ever needed me for was to bring your coffee…or play nurse to you," said Betty. "You'll be fine without me."

"If you leave, I am going back to New York with you." Daniel quickly decided.

"You have nine more weeks to complete this program. I'm not going to let you give up, just because we aren't together. I care about you too much to let you do that. You need to be focused on that. We should just admit that getting married was a bad idea. It was too much for you right now."

"I don't want a divorce." Daniel proclaimed.

"Well, I do." She said softly.

"You said you wanted to fight for our marriage."

"That was before I found Molly in our bedroom with her hands on you…and yours on her." Betty snapped. "It makes me sick."

"But you were willing to fight for it." Daniel could feel his blood pressure shoot up. His heart began to race.

"Daniel….I..." Betty began to cry harder. "I just can't."

Daniel got up and moved in the direction of her sobs. He needed to touch her. It was a last effort to try to show her what she meant to him and how foolish he had been. Finally, he reached her. When he reached out for her, he was surprised that she didn't pull away from him. Instead, she allowed him to pull her body close to his.

"Yes. We can. Together we can." He whispered into her hair. "We are going back to New York together. We are going to sort this out and work through it. I'm going to fix this."

"I…." She pulled away from him.

"Don't say that we can't…" Daniel felt his chest tighten. "At least we have try."

"Daniel…"

"I'll play by your rules from now on. If I fail, you can divorce me and I'll give you all my shares of Meade and half of my money. Not a bad deal for a month-long marriage."

"Daniel, I don't want your shares or your money. I don't want anything from you."

Daniel knew that would be her response. He needed to show him that he was serious about this. He needed to up the stakes and try to find a way to get his life back.

"Well, I hate to break it to you but you already own half of them anyway." Daniel braced himself the impact of his wedding gift to her. He hadn't planned on revealing it to her until they returned from Chicago.

"What?"

"The moment you said I do. I had half of my shares transferred into your name. You are part owner of Meade Publications."

"I don't want it." Betty said furiously. "How could you do something like that without consulting me? You have to change it."

"It's too late. It's done," said Daniel. "Mom took care of it for me. She is even having an office decorated just for you."

"Daniel, I told you that I don't want them. I don't want the office either."

"Well, you could sell them. I guess…but it won't do any good. You'll just end up with the rest of them when you divorce me," said Daniel. "I guess you could sell those too. However, I have a feeling that you wouldn't feel good about letting some stranger get their hands on Meade Publications. After all, can you imagine how that would make my mom feel?"

Daniel hated to play dirty. Right now, he didn't know any other way. He was desperate to fix his mistake. He knew that he needed some help dealing with his condition. After tonight, he was more aware of that than ever. He couldn't do this by himself. He needed her.

"I hate you." Betty said sharply, before she turned and went into the bathroom and shut the door.

PLEASE REVIEW.


	22. Chapter 22

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thanks for the comments. I appreciate it. Also, thanks Readingfrenzy for the suggestion. _

* * *

**Chapter 22**

Betty gazed out the airplane window and tried to clear her mind, hoping that if she did that she would the answer of what she should do would come to her about where she should go from here. She thought she would have the answer by the time she returned home.

The problem was that she was half way back to New York and the answer still wasn't clear. In fact, she was more confused than ever.

Five days ago, she could honestly say that she was ready to throw in the towel, go back to New York and file for divorce, try to move on with her life and forget the past month ever happened.

Then, things went from bad to worse when she came out of the bathroom to tell Daniel that she didn't care what he did to try to keep her in this marriage. She was done.

That was when she found him sitting on the edge of the bed, clutching his head from the sudden headaches that had come over him more and more. At first, she thought he was faking it, to get her to stay. However, it only took a few minutes before she knew that there really was something wrong with him.

Four days in the hospital for observation later, Betty was packing their things for their return to New York. Now, they were on the Meade Publications plane and headed back to their uncertain future.

She felt him place his hand over hers on the arm rest, causing her to look over at him.

"Betty…I..uh…never did thank you for staying with me in the hospital. I know…"

She cut in. "Daniel, what was I supposed to do, leave you there? I'm your wife…even if things are difficult now."

"Still…it meant a lot to me."

She pulled her hand away. It made her heart ache. It was like the warmth of his hand would sink right through her skin and into her bloodstream, making a beeline for her heart. It would only result in clouding her thinking and make her decision harder.

The last few days, they both avoided the events of that horrible day. It was clear though that it wasn't far from either of their minds. It was almost like they were stuck in a state of limbo. They couldn't go back and they couldn't move forward either.

With a little time, Betty realized that she was being overdramatic the other night when she told Daniel that she hated him. The truth was she didn't hate him. Though, she was sure that no one would blame her, if she did, after everything that occurred with Molly.

No.

She didn't hate him. In fact, she loved him still but was having serious doubt about staying married to him. After all, how can you stay married to someone, if you don't trust them to tell you the truth?

If they stayed married, would she be looking behind every door and checking every closet to see if Molly….or someone else would pop out at any moment?

With all her heart, she wanted to believe that Daniel wasn't that guy anymore. Her brain reminded her of his past and the string of women…the string of women…getting his boxers thrown at her head….or the trips to the pharmacy to pick up his condoms…..

STOP!

These were things that could never happen now. It's not like he was capable of hanging in the night clubs or bars to pick up women. He could barely got around without assistance.

Hiring a full-time person to help him adjust was always a possibility, especially now that she had a new set of responsibilities at Meade Publication that she wasn't sure that she even wanted, given the circumstances.

But how soon would she come home to find him caught in a compromising position with his nurse, when she returned home from a long day at the office.

"Aren't you going to talk to me?" Daniel broke the silence had lingered for a majority of the trip.

"What do you want me to say?" Betty said plainly. The last thing she wanted to talk about was the subject she knew was on his mind.

"I want to tell me that we are going to work this out."

"Daniel, I don't want to talk about it."

"Then, when are we going to talk about it?" Daniel said anxiously. "I've been patient and given you some space….and said I wouldn't ask but there is only so long that I can wait."

"Well, that's just too bad."

"Betty…"

"Daniel, it's not like you were just talking to another woman. You had your hands on her and she had her hands on you. I'm not just going to get over that."

"It was stupid. I wasn't thinking…"

"Obviously…" Betty was really getting annoyed. "And don't even try telling me that you were holding onto her to get your balance. That's not going to fly with me. I'm surprised you didn't have your hands aim higher for her boobs since you were thinking with your penis."

"Look…I left the program. I'm coming home with you."

"That was your choice, not mine." Betty pointed out. "You could have stayed and had more one-on-one time with Molly. I'm sure that she would be ready to pay patty cake with you anytime you want."

"I told you. She just showed up. You knew she was moving back to Chicago." Daniel reached over for her arm. She kept it out of reach.

"And yet, she couldn't help herself but to come and get a job where you were. How convenient? You couldn't even tell me about it." Betty felt her eyes begin to water. The image of him and Molly was burned into her brain. "She just keeps showing up. I can't keep going through this."

"So…you want a divorce? You aren't even thinking about what I said the other day?"

"Daniel, I don't want your shares or your money."

"You are just going to give up? That's not the Betty that I know."

"That Betty's gone." She said sadly. The Betty that believed in happy endings and her perfect Prince Charming was long gone now. In fact, she pretty much died the night of the accident.

"Betty, you keep avoiding the real questions. Do you want a divorce?"

"What do you want me to say?" Betty asked, even though she knew the answer. "Do you want me to say that I'll stand by you through everything?"

"Yes…I made a mistake."

"Daniel, I need some time to sort things out. I don't really know what I want right now. All I know is that I need my space and…It might be better for us to be apart for a while." She said honestly. "Live separately."

"I guess that's better than where we were the other day." Daniel said. "At least, you aren't saying that it's over." He let out a sigh of relief.

"I can't make any promises that we won't end up there. I just need some time to think." Betty reminded him.

"Betty, I really want to try to work this out."

"I know…" She looked down at his hand on hers. His fingers lightly brushing hers, made her whole body tingle. Once again, she pulled her hand away before she instantly forgave him.

There was no way that she was going to give in that easily. Getting swept up in the way her body reacted to him would only lead to disaster. They still had a lot of things to work out.

"I'll stay at my mom's townhouse. You can have the loft." Daniel nodded. "And I've thought about it and I'm going to hire someone to help me get back on my feet, that's probably what I should have done in the first place….and then we could have avoided all of this."

"I'm sure you'll find some great woman that can…"

"Oh No…I'm going to find a man to help me. I don't need to make things worse for us."

"Us? I told you." Betty didn't want to give him false hope of reconciliation.

"I know what you said. I know that I screwed up royally but I hope that someday, you can forgive me. Shoot…I even have some hope that I'll get my sight back. You heard what the doctor said at the hospital. They said that really believe that this is temporary."

He added. "I have to tell you that gave me some hope that we could have a real future together….with a couple kids and a dog."

"Daniel, you really shouldn't plan for these things. No one knows what the future will hold." Betty said pessimistically. "Let's just take it a day at a time."

Betty wished that she could be as enthusiastic as Daniel. It was like suddenly he has been infused with every bit of optimism that used to live inside of her. As much as she wanted to be hopeful, she was afraid that this wasn't going to end well.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreciate it._

**Chapter 23**

It had been a week since Daniel and Betty had returned to New York and officially began their separation from each other. In those seven days, Daniel had grown to hate that word more than any other.

_Separation._

When Daniel agreed to the separation, he was still hopeful that they could work things out. It was only going to be temporary for them. It would give them both some time to sort out thing.

He was mistake though. He thought the separation meant that he would see Betty from time to time. The reality was that he hadn't seen her since she dropped him off at his mother's townhouse on the way home from the airport, telling him that she would see him the next morning.

Of course, the next morning came and there was no sign of her or in the days that followed. The only thing that did show up was the rest of his belongings, via courier. It was a move that saddened Daniel, especially after she promised that she would still come by, so they could talk about thing. Yet, it had been a week now and he still hadn't seen any signs of her.

He knew that she was probably busy though with Meade and getting adjusted to her new responsibilities. Or maybe, she was trying to avoid him.

Maybe, she wanted to end things and was afraid to say so. After all, she hadn't even called him and every night when he went to bed, he was reminded that she wasn't there beside him.

As much as he missed her, he refused to give up or get lost in the darkness, now that the light in his life was absent from his life. Instead, he was using his loneliness to help push him forward and focus on his own recovery with the hopes that once Betty did come around. She would see that he was stronger and that he was still capable of being the man that she once loved and the man that she deserved, whether he had his sight or not.

As Daniel sat there in the living room, he heard the sound of the front door open, signaling that this mother had returned from the office. Her shoes were also gave her away.

"How was your session with Jack?" Claire moved closer.

"Great. I'm getting around much better, not running into things." Daniel informed her. Two days after he returned from Chicago, Jack showed up and made more progress in a few days than Daniel made in the whole month that he was in Chicago. "I can't wait to tell Bet…" He stopped himself, afraid to bring up Betty in front of his mother. Mostly because he had been avoiding the dreaded conversation that he knew was inevitable. For a whole week, he had managed to avoid it.

"Betty?" His mother sat down in the chair beside him.

"Yeah." Daniel said hesitantly, preparing himself for the lecture he knew was coming. He didn't need to see his mother to be able to know that.

"You know I've held my tongue for a whole week but I just can't hold it back anymore. Daniel, what were you thinking allowing that women in your bedroom?"

"Betty told you." Daniel groaned.

"Yes….well, not initially. It took some doing to get to the bottom of why my son and his new wife are separated and he's living with me. Betty told me over lunch today."

"You've seen Betty?" Daniel couldn't help but feel a bit envious.

"Yes. I see her every day at the office but that's not the point, Daniel. How could you let Molly into your bedroom?" His mother was clearly upset and Daniel knew he deserved it. "You know how Betty feels about her and I can't say that I blame her at all."

"I wasn't thinking…okay!" Daniel said loudly. "I wanted to go after Betty. I needed to change and Molly just showed up."

"I knew that woman was going to cause problems for you. First, it was at MODE and then it was at the hospital after accident…"

"Molly doesn't mean anything to me. She could never even come close to how much I love Betty."

"Well, it also didn't help that right before that you told Betty you wanted her to go back to New York." Claire snapped. "It's understandable that she might think that you just wanted her to go away so that you and Molly could be alone."

"Mom! I would never. Why can't anyone believe that I would never do that to Betty?"

"Of course, you wouldn't. However, the evidence isn't stacked in your favor, Daniel. You are your father's son."

Daniel groaned. "Mom, the only reason that I wanted her to come back was that I was depressed. No one understands what I'm going through. I just thought she deserved better than me. Now, I can see that I can't live without her."

"Well, I'm sorry to say I think you are going to have your work cut out for you, dear." Claire said solemnly.

"Is that why she hasn't come to see me like she said she would?"

"She's been very busy, adjusting to the responsibilities that you have handed over to her. She has had her hands full, dealing with that and other complications regarding your marital status," said Claire.

"What type of complications?"

"That little troll Suzuki St. Pierre got his grubby little hands on your marriage license and broke the news and they haven't been exactly kind to her."

"Why didn't you say anything? Is she okay?" Daniel started to get up. "I need to go see her. Can you call the car, please?"

"Daniel, the best thing that you can do is give her the space she needs right now. Betty can handle herself."

"She's my wife. I can't let her deal with this alone."

"Let Betty concentrate on herself for a while. You need to concentrate on your recovery…and then hopefully, everything will work out."

"What if it doesn't? What if I've lost her forever, Mom?"

He felt his mother's hand on his. "You just need to have a little faith, Daniel."

Daniel took a deep breath to calm himself. "I'm trying. I just miss her so much and I have to make this right. You have to help me….what do you think that it's going to take? Flowers? Jewelry? A new house?"

"You know better. Betty doesn't want any of those things."

"I know." Daniel said miserably. Of course, he knew this about Betty. She didn't want the material things.

"You need to win back her trust. You need to show her how much you love her and never give her a reason to doubt you."

"How am I supposed to do that, if she doesn't call me or even come to see me? Even you told me that I should give her some space. I can't exactly show her, if she's won't let me near her." Daniel said remorsefully. "You know what….maybe, it's better that I just wait for her."

"Daniel…"

"Well, there is that saying that if you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they're your; if they don't they never were." Daniel sighed. "I guess all I can really do is wait and see if we were really are meant to be and if she loves me enough to find it in her heart to forgive me."

"Betty loves you. I think you already know that." Claire said reassuringly.

"Yes. I know. I just hope that in the meantime she doesn't find some sighted man that can give her what I can't give her," said Daniel.

"You can't give up."

"It's true though. At least, he can look….in her eyes and see her beautiful brown eyes and that smile….I would do anything to see those braces right now."

"Actually, that would be impossible because she had them removed yesterday." Claire informed him.

"Really…how does she look?" He smiled and he felt his heart lift. "I bet she's gorgeous…not that she wasn't before. I just….I mean, how does she look?"

"She looks beautiful."

"I wish I could see her, Mom." Daniel felt tears begin to fill her eyes. He couldn't help but feel jealous that Betty hadn't called him to tell him the happy news about her braces being removed. This was one of those memorable life moments that he was going to miss out on, if he never got his sight back.

Just that fact alone was enough to make him give up and let her go. But then he thought back to the first time that he and Betty made love. He had to admit that he thought it would be strange not being able to see everything that was going on. But in the end, it didn't seem to matter that he had his sight. They were still able to bring things to a level that Daniel had never experienced in his life.

It was true that he didn't know what the future had in store for him, regarding his sight. He did know that any challenges that lied ahead for him and Betty wouldn't be the same without her. All those challenges he wanted to experience with Betty because he had a feeling that while it seemed scary now. It could lead to some really unbelievable moments.

Now, he just had to find a way to continue to show her that he wasn't going to try to stop trying to make their marriage work. He was in this for the long haul, even if she was having second thoughts at the moment.

With that, he was more determined than ever. He didn't care how long it took. He was not going to just let Betty slip away from him because of his own stupidity. He was going win her back.

"Daniel…" His mother shook him from his thoughts.

"Mom, I need you to help me get my wife to fall in love with me again."

"She does love you." His mother emphasized.

"Yeah..yeah…I know… but I think I need to date my wife."

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreicate them._

**Chapter 24**

To say that Betty had been busy would be an understatement, every night this week; she had been consumed with meetings, parties, appointments and settling into her life back in New York. Of course, her life was far from the life she was used to.

Only a couple months ago, Betty lived in her little apartment and eating ramen to get by until the next pay check. Now, she was part owner of one of the largest publication companies in the United States, all because she said I do and became Daniel's wife.

In a few short days, she had been transformed from her former self to her new self. She no longer had braces. Her teeth were gleaming and white. Her hair was cut and styled. Her colorful wardrobe had been replaced by designer clothing that looked and felt amazing but at the same time, made her feel like she was in someone else's body.

How she missed being able to take the subway being followed? Or go shopping without a photographer hiding in the clothing racks?

What had Daniel done to her? She didn't want any of this. She had only wanted him and now she was given more than she could take. The stress was the last thing that she needed right now.

If this is what she got for marrying Daniel, she wasn't sure that she wanted it. How could you live happily ever after with a camera in your face? If she really thought about it, she guessed that it could explain Daniel's behaviors in his early years. The drinking, the drugs and the women were his way of dealing with it.

And maybe, she could deal with it, if she had Daniel by her side. Betty wanted out. She wanted out of Meade Publications. Of course, she couldn't bring herself to totally abandon it though.

She had tried to get them to invalidate the agreement that gave her control of half of Daniel's share but there was no way around it. In fact, the statement that Daniel had made about giving her all of the shares, if they should divorce was all there in black and white. Claire had told her that it was Daniel's way of making sure that she would always be provided for and that she would be able to achieve any of her career aspirations.

Betty felt trapped. After a week of living at the top of the corporate lady, Betty knew that she didn't want to be there. The view was different than she imagined. She was not cut out for this type of life. The constant attention from the paparazzi and the schmoozing was not the way of life that she wanted.

Six weeks ago, she married Daniel and thought that it would be lead to a happy life. Now, everything was a mess. There was a part of her that just wanted to run away from it all and never look back. The only problem was that everywhere she went; she had a reminder of Daniel.

Every night, she was return home to their loft and she would be reminded of him. Every morning, she would walk through the doors of Meade Publications and be reminded of him. At work functions, she would be asked about him. The paparazzi would storm her with questions about him…about her and their marriage. It was overwhelming.

Betty was unhappy. It was time to have a long over-due conversation with Daniel about her happiness, Meade Publications and their marriage.

But that would have to wait until tomorrow, Betty realized as she slid the key in the lock. She was exhausted and there was only one more thing that she needed to take care of tonight before she collapsed into bed.

As she entered the apartment, she quickly closed the door and placed her briefcase on the table and removed her coat. She moved down the hall and flipped on the light switch. When the light flooded the room, she realized that she wasn't alone.

"Daniel!"

There on the couch in the dark. Daniel had been sitting, obviously waiting for her to get home.

"What are you doing here?" Betty looked around for Claire or Jack but found neither.

"I came to see you." He got up from the cough with his cane in one hand and a bouquet of daisies in another.

"Why?"

"Why wouldn't I? You are my wife, Betty."

Betty looked down at the bouquet in his hand. "Are those for me?"

"Yeah." He held them out to her. "I…hope they are pink. The man at the florist told me they were…but really….what would I know about that? He could have sold me a bouquet of weeds."

Betty couldn't help it. She chuckled, realizing it was the first time in a week that she had done so. "Yes….they are. They are beautiful, Daniel. Thank you. "

This was the Daniel that Betty missed. The Daniel that he had been before things became complicated and out of control. She wanted that back. Of course, she knew that once you start down a path, it is impossible to go back. They probably could never be just friend again. It was all or nothing.

"How did you get here?"

"I had to car bring me. I did manage to get all the way from the lobby to our apartment all by myself though," said Daniel.

"Wow…that's so great, Daniel." Betty said proudly.

"I even ordered dinner for us. I would have cooked but I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet," said Daniel. "I know that I could have taken you out but I didn't think that you would be up for that."

"No. I would rather not." Betty didn't want to see any more paparazzi. Nor did she really feel like having this conversation about their future tonight. While she was sure about Meade Publications, she wasn't one hundred percent sure about what she was going to do about her and Daniel.

"Mom said they were kind of harsh on you…and on us."

"You could say that. I'm not worried about it though." She said solemnly. "It really doesn't matter."

"Of course, it matters." Daniel said sympathetically.

"Daniel, I'm really glad you came over but I know that you probably want to talk about us but I'm not sure that I can right now." She tried to keep the emotion out of her voice.

"No…I'm not here to tell you that you have to forgive me, Betty. I'm not here to talk you out of whatever you want to do…about us. I just want to be with you. I just want to take care of you."

Betty sighed. "Really?" She had to admit that she was pleasantly surprised to hear that he wasn't here to try to persuade her about what she should or shouldn't do….or even how she should feel about things.

"Yes….now, I want you to go take a bath and change. I'm sure that dinner will be here by the time that you are done."

"Do you need me to…." Betty wondered if she should actually wait for the food to arrive. He would surely need help with that.

He reached forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I've got this. Don't worry. You just go relax and take your time. I'll be waiting for you out here." He smiled. "Now go…"

He took the flowers from her. "I'll put these in some water."

"Okay." Betty said, as she made her way to do exactly what he told her.

About forty five minutes later, Betty emerged from the bedroom, refreshed and dressed for dinner. Her eyes fell onto the daisies that were already in a vase on the counter. She wandered into the dining room, where she was completely astonished at what she saw before her.

There was Daniel waiting for her, just like he promised. The table was set perfectly with candles and flowers all around the room. There was food and plenty of it too. Betty couldn't help but be thankful for it. She had been exactly been eating well the past week between her packed schedule.

"Daniel, you did all this."

Daniel grinned, as he pulled out her chair. "Obviously not! I had a few helpers but I did open the wine...myself."

Betty's heart melted at the pride in his voice that he had in his accomplishments. "I'm impressed." She moved over toward him and slid into the chair. "Everything looks amazing. You really have out done yourself."

He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. That simple kiss was enough to send a surge through her whole body. It was enough to forgive him for everything that happened. She held herself back though because she feared that, if she opened her heart, she would only end up hurt once again.

In fact, she had received the confirmation, just a few minutes ago that she had to be more careful than ever now and not allow herself to get swept away. After all, it wasn't just her that she had to think about. She had to think about the child she was carrying and whether Daniel would have mixed emotions when he found out.

The one thing that she did know was that she was not telling him tonight.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the comments. I really do appreciate them. Also thank you for patience too. It's been a difficult couple weeks_**. **

* * *

**Chapter 25**

Daniel did his best not to pressure Betty about what she wanted and as much as he wanted to ask her questions about their future, he knew that pressuring her would only drive her further away and that was the last thing that he wanted to do.

Before he set out on "Operation Win Betty's Heart", he told himself that practicing patience was going to be the key in the success of this attempt. After all, he had really messed up with the Molly situation.

He looked back and could see exactly where he went wrong. Instead of having Molly help him get into the program in Chicago, he should have handled it himself or even have Betty handle it. She was his wife, after all.

It was his stupidity though. He knew that Molly was a thorn in Betty's side and a source of insecurity. Daniel was a fool and if he lost her because of it, he couldn't totally blame her for leaving. Of course, that didn't mean that he was letting go without a fight.

He would hang on until the end. Because if he learned anything from Betty in the time he had known her, it was that you should never give up. And he didn't intend too.

After hearing from his mother how tough things had been for Betty over the past week, he quickly understood why she hadn't come to see him. She was overwhelmed and stressed.

So…he made arrangements for dinner. Not just take out from the Chinese place a few blocks away. A real dinner with real food with a hint of romance. Just enough not to go overboard and seem like he was trying to hard.

His complete focus was on her, trying to soothe her and hoping that she would open up to him. All through dinner, he could hear the nervousness in her voice. He could tell that she was on the verge of opening up to him. He could sense it a few times but then she seemed to change the subject when things got too personal.

"Wow! Dinner was amazing. I was starving. I think the only thing I ate all day was a bagel." Betty said graciously.

Then, there was an awkward silence.

"Uh…I should get this cleaned up." He heard Betty begin to get up from her seat. The chair slid against the floor.

"No…I've have that under control." Daniel didn't want Betty to lift a finger tonight and try to make some progress with her. As soon as she went to bed, he would call and have someone return to clean up. "Would you like some more wine?"

He knew that Betty always got really talkative, after a few glasses. She only had one at dinner.

"No…uh…no." Betty seemed to struggle with her words. He had to wonder if she was onto him and his plan to win back her heart. He wondered if he should have started smaller with just having some flowers sent to her office. "I don't think I should."

There went his plan. Perhaps, it was better to just get to the point. He took a deep breath and figured it was probably better to be honest. "Can we go talk?"

Talking seemed like an proper place to start. Of course, now that he asked her if they could talk. Daniel had no idea where to start. He couldn't afford to screw this up.

"I think that would be a good idea." Betty said softly. Her voice seemed so small that she was practically whispering. "Maybe, we should go in the living room where we can be more comfortable."

"Okay." Now, he was starting to freak out. He knew that he should have planned better. He was more a man of actions than talk.

Before he knew it though, they were both sitting on the couch. Daniel knew that words should be coming out of his mouth but he couldn't seem to find the right ones. He was petrified that he would say the wrong thing and push her away even further. Even, telling her that he loved her seemed too forceful right now. She would just think he was trying to smooth thing over with his charm. He had to play it cool and let her come to him.

Just like with his lessons with Jack, he had to practice patience. Everything was not going to just happen overnight. There was no instant gratification in this situation.

"So…things are going really well with your new instructor. You've made incredible progress in a really short amount of time. I'm really proud of you, Daniel."

"Thanks." Daniel's instincts told him to jump right into some long apology about how he should have chosen that option in the first place. He restrained himself. "How are things at Meade?"

Once again, there was silence. He knew this was a probably a sore subject as well. What was he supposed to do talk about the weather? They had to start somewhere. Meade Publications seemed like a safer subject than their marriage.

"I don't really want to talk about that," said Betty.

"Betty, you can be honest with me. Tell me"

"You want me to be honest, Daniel." Betty said plainly. "Well, I'm not sure that you can handle it."

"Come on. I'm here to listen."

"I want out. That's what I want." Betty said nervously. "I'm so unhappy."

Daniel's heart ached. "So, that's it. You still want to go through with it."

"Things are not working. I feel like I'm drowning, Daniel."

Daniel didn't want to give up but it was clear that she was ready to block any attempts he was making to make their marraige work. He told himself that the moment she said that it was over again. He would stop the fight and give into her request. After all, her happiness was the most important thing to him. If he had focused more on that earlier, they wouldn't even be in this situation.

"I'll call the lawyers and have the divorce papers ready, if that's what you want." It hurt Daniel to even say it but he knew he deserved it.

"Daniel, I was talking about Meade Publications, not the divorce."

A twinge of hope returned to Daniel, as he tried to stop his heart from breaking in two. "Oh..."

"But while we are on that subject, what do you really want, Daniel?" Betty snapped back. He could tell that she was crying now. "Why are you here?"

"Does it really matter why I'm really here? Isn't it enough that I am here?" Daniel said. "Anyway, I told you that I wanted to spend some time with you."

"Yes…but why? I know you and I know there has to be more to it. Did you come here hoping that some flowers and food were going to make me throw my arms around you and forgive you?" He felt Betty get up from her seat beside him. "Just like that."

He could hear the hurt in her voice, added to the addition stress that she had been under during her week at Meade Publications. It really was too much too fast.

She had gone from being an assistant to being part owner of Meade and she had gone from being his friend to his wife in a short amount of time. It would be too much for anyone.

Daniel felt defeated. Maybe, it would be better just to let everything go back the way it was. "I can tell you don't want me here." He started to get up. "I'll go."

"Oh…no! You don't." Betty kept him from rising off the couch. He rested on the edge. "You aren't going anywhere until we get to the bottom of this."

Daniel felt his heart beating faster and faster than it was before. "Betty, I only brought you dinner because I knew that you were really stressed from your week at work. I wanted to take care of you the way that you deserve. I wanted to show you that I'm capable of taking care of you and being the man you need."

He added. "Apparently, you don't need me though."

"So you just came over here to try to take care of me."

He nodded. "Yes. Even if you decided that you want to end our marriage….and I'm not saying that is what I want…I will always love you and want to take care of you, even if I'm not very good at it."

"Daniel, I can't just forgive you for what happened. It's going to take time." She said in a gentle tone. "But I can tell you that I love you very much. In fact, you are the reason why I haven't just walked away from Meade Publications."

"Has it been that bad?"

"It's been horrendous. You have no idea," Betty sighed. "I feel so out-of-place there in that office and all these meetings, I feel like I don't even know what I'm talking about.

"Sounds like you could use some help getting adjusted." Daniel realized that this could be his way in. He wanted more than anything for Betty to be successful at this opportunity that he had given her.

"I don't think I can do this. It's just too much." Betty said hopelessly.

"Yes, you can. You can do anything, especially when you want it bad enough."

"I don't know." She whispered.

"How about I help you?" Daniel suggested.

"No." She said simply.

"You can't give up just because something is hard, Betty. I know that you are really mad that I threw all this at you." He reached forward and found her waist. "Let me help you."

"You have other things to deal with," said Betty. "You are making so much progress. I don't want to interfere with your lessons."

"That's just in the morning. I am getting tired of being cooped up all the time," said Daniel. "I have to start living again. I can't just wait for my sight to return because that could be a month from now….or years from now."

"What about MODE?" Betty asked

"I'm not worried about MODE now. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that yet. I want to help you now."

Daniel sat there for a few minute, through the agonizing silence.

"On one condition." She said hesitantly.

"What's that?" He felt her hand rest on his shoulders, as she moved closer into him. This was the closest that he had been to her in almost two weeks. Right now, he would probably climb the Empire State Building for a chance to spend more time with her.

"First, I need you to understand that this has nothing to do with us…personally. If I agree to let you help me, it's purely professional. It does not mean that we are getting back together, Daniel. We still have a lot of issues to work out."

"Can you accept that?" Betty added

"Yes." Daniel said without an ounce of hesitation. "I can."

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Love is Blind**

Author's Note: Thank you for the comments and the feedback. I appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 26**

Over the next four weeks, Betty and Daniel spent countless hours working together on Meade Publication business. He remained true to their initial agreement. There was only a strict professional relationship between them, as he guided her through the shark infested business world.

While a few people knew about the problems in their marriage, she and Daniel maintained to stay united in the eyes of the public and the paparazzi. To everyone else, they were a loving newlywed couple with a bright future ahead of them.

With Daniel's guidance, Betty's confidence was increasing. It also seemed that the same was happening to Daniel, as he returned to work. In the daytime, she guided him and he guided her. Professionally, they were a team.

Personally, they were still apart. He stayed at his mother's town house, while she stayed at the loft alone. While Daniel did make some small gestures of affection toward her, she also wondered whether he was still interested in reconciliation.

The further along in her pregnancy that she got, the closer she wanted to be to him. They hadn't really kissed since Chicago. And she missed it. She missed it so much that she cried herself to sleep over it.

She just didn't know how to tell him that. He was so focused on his work and his lessons with Jack. Betty didn't want to take his attention away from it. He was doing so well.

But the fact was that she needed him. And that's how they ended up in this supply closet, down the hall from their shared office, when they should have been in the limo on the way to a charity benefit.

"What's gotten into you?" Daniel chuckled, between kisses.

"I'm hoping you. So…can we just move this along? I need you." She fumbled with the buttons in the dark, as she continued to kiss him.

"Betty…" He breathed heavily, as he pulled away. She unbuttoned the last button on his shirt. Her hands reached inside to help him out of his shirt. "We are going to be late for the..."

She shut him up with a passionate and urgent kiss. She pulled away momentarily, eager to show him that she wanted him and how much she still needed him.

"Don't tell me you don't want this because I know you do" She kissed along his collar-bone, as she peeled his shirt over his shoulders and quickly shed it the floor. Her heart was beating so fast. Her hormones were out of control and she needed him to quench that need.

She found his lips and kissed him again. The way his body felt against hers made her ache for him. He pulled her closer to him and his hands quickly found the zipper on the back of her dress. It had been far too long.

His hands slowly pulled the zipper down until he stopped midway and returned the zipper to its starting position.

Betty pulled away and gazed up at him in the dim light. "Why did you stop?"

"I can't do this, Betty. Not like this." He whispered, as he tried to steady his breathing.

"Everyone has left for the day. There are no cameras in here." She ran her hand across his chest. "Why not? It's not like you've never done it in the supply closet."

"That might be true in the past. Not anymore" Daniel stated plainly. "I don't want it to be like this."

"I see" Betty said emotionally. She reached down and picked up his shirt and jacket and shoved them back into his hands.

"Betty, don't be like this. Let me explain."

"I'm not being like anything. I see that you don't want me anymore," said Betty sharply, as she tried to control the urge to cry.

Betty opened the closet door, leaving Daniel in there alone. She knew that he was more than capable of finding his way out. After all, he has come so far in the past couple weeks. He obviously didn't need her to hold his hand anymore.

Now that he was starting to gain his independence, had he outgrown her while he was waiting for her to realize she still wanted to be with him? Did she make him wait too long?

She went down the hall to their office. As she sat there, she knew that it was time to have a real and honest talk about their future. She also knew that it needed to be soon because she was running out of time.

Betty didn't even know how she was going to explain to Daniel, that she hid their child's existence from him. He already seemed to pushing her away. Would this just push him further? Would he even want this child with her or would you have to raise them alone?

Every time, she would get hit with morning sickness. She would do everything she could to hide I from him. The one time, he seemed to suspect that something might be wrong with her. She told him that she was coming down with the flu, which left her to stay home for the next few days to maintain her cover and buy her more time.

Of course, it was impossible to hide it from everyone. It only took Claire about four days to catch on; when she caught Betty throwing up in the trash can in her office one morning while Daniel was out.

Claire promised that she would give Betty until the end of the first trimester to tell Daniel the truth about the baby.

Or she would.

It was a deadline that was quickly approaching. It wouldn't be long before the world realized that Betty was pregnant. She was already started to gain weight and she already couldn't fit into some of new clothes that she was had bought for her new position at Meade.

This was all too much for Betty, as she felt her tears begin to slide down her cheeks. All she wanted was for things to be normal.

How Betty wished that she could rewind to that night for weeks ago when she discovered her pregnancy and Daniel had been so sweet, trying to take care of her with dinner. Why couldn't she go back to that night and tell him the truth then? After all, lies had already done enough to hurt their very new marriage.

"Betty…" She heard the door close. She looked up and saw Daniel there. "I think we need to talk."

"I get it. You don't want me. There is nothing to talk about." Betty wiped her eyes and stood up. "We have to be somewhere that we need to be. We have a job to do." She started past him but he grabbed her arm gently.

"Actually, I think we have something way more important to attend to now. Our marriage," said Daniel. "I don't get a damn about anyone at the benefit. The only person that means anything to me is you.

"You don't have to say that. You already made your feelings known. I get it. I waited too long. You don't need me anymore."

"That's not true. If you think that I was rejecting you earlier, you would be very wrong. "

"You weren't?" Betty said softly.

"Actually, I love you more than ever," said Daniel. "The only reason that we aren't having sex in the supply closet right now is that you deserve better than that. Doing something like that is something that I would have done in my past. I didn't want that to be the way we got back together."

"Oh…" Betty felt terrible for jumping to conclusions. "I'm so sorry that I've been so difficult." She said apologetically. The tears started falling again. "And my emotions have just been all over the place."

Daniel pulled her close to him. It felt so good to be back in his arms. "I'm sorry too. And it's understandable that you would be emotional. You've been through a lot the past couple months. We both have."

Betty rested her head against his shoulder. "I think that it's time for you to come home permanently."

"Yes…" He drew his arms tighter around her. "That's exactly what I want."

Betty pulled away. She wanted him to know everything because the last thing that she wanted was there to be any secrets between them. "Daniel, there is something that I need to tell you."

"We have plenty of time to talk," said Daniel. "Right now, I just to take you home and sleep in our bed."

"It's still early, Daniel. You never go to bed this early."

"I know but I think that I'm going to have to make a special exception tonight. After all, we have a lot of making up to do."

"I agree." Betty wanted to tell him about the baby. However, she knew he was right. They had plenty of time to talk. She would tell him once they were finally back home together.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Love is Blind **

Author's Note: Thank you for the comments and feedback. I appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 27**

By the time, he and Betty got back to their loft. The last thing Daniel felt like doing was what they had originally planned. He was determined though that he was not going to allow the onset of one of his headaches to get in the way of their first night together in over a month. He would just have to push through it.

This was a night that he and Betty should be celebrating. His idea of celebration did not including having Betty playing nurse to him. He knew both his mother and Betty would be concerned about the headaches that had been more frequent over the past few weeks. That's why he had kept it mostly to himself and tried not to let them know.

Anyway, they were harmless and they always passed quickly. There was no reason to worry them.

He was sure that by the time they got around to the fun part of the evening. He would be feeling a lot better and would be able to focus all of his attention on Betty.

"Daniel, are you okay?" Betty asked, as they entered their loft. He heard the door close.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Daniel began to take off his jacket, realizing that he had probably been too quiet. Betty always did know when something was wrong.

"You've been a little quieter than normal since we left the office. The entire ride home, I kind of felt like you were on other planet," said Betty.

"I'm a little tired." Daniel realized that wasn't totally untrue. However, he wasn't about to let his fatigue or this headache get in the way of their night.

"Perhaps, you should rest. It's been a long day. We could postpone…"

"Oh…No way! I'm not that tired." He said reassuringly. Betty took his jacket and opened the closet to put them away.

"You look kind of pale. Are you sure that there isn't something else wrong?" She closed the closet door. He felt her hand land on his cheek. For a moment, he reveled in the softness of her fingers brushing lightly across his cheek. "Maybe we should call…."

"No." Daniel captured her wrist, pulling her hand away. "Betty, I'm actually perfect."

"Really?" Betty began leading him down the hallway that went into the living room. "Come on. Sit down on the couch."

"Actually, I was thinking more about the bed…but if you want to do it on the couch, I'm game." Daniel tried to joke with her, as he reached the couch. He pulled her down on his lap.

"Hey….I was going to get you some water," said Betty.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere, Mrs. Meade. You are everything that I could ever want to make me happy."

"I'm sure there are other things that could make you happy, Daniel. In fact, I am pretty sure that I know just the thing."

"Well, yeah….like you out of this dress." He ran his hand up her bare leg.

"I wasn't talking about that, Daniel." She giggled. How he loved the sound of her laughter? The most beautiful sound ever.

If he couldn't look in her eyes, hearing her laugh was the next best thing, in his opinion.

"Betty, I'm back home where I can sleep in our bed with my wife. I think that makes me pretty lucky." Daniel planted a trail of kisses on her neck. "And very…very happy."

His hands brushed over her breasts and she let out a moan. "Daniel…there's something we really need to talk about."

"Yes…" He murmured. He felt his heart pounding wildly, as he ran his hand over her stomach.

"Uh….well….I…you….one of us should probably call you mother at some point tonight and let her know that you won't be staying there anymore," said Betty nervously.

Daniel pulled away his head away. "Can I be honest?"

"Sure…I actually think we should be very honest with each other from now on."

"Talking about my mother." Daniel said truthfully. "Not really a turn on."

"Sorry…" Betty said apologetically.

"It's okay. We have plenty of time. Anyway, it probably is a good idea to let her know, so that she doesn't report me as a missing person. I also need to let Jack know that he will need to come here from now on." In fact, Daniel was okay with keeping things cool for a little while. because his headache actually seemed to be getting worse, instead of better.

"I'll take care of it."

"You don't have to take care of me, Betty. I'll call her later."

"I know, sweetie. I like doing it actually. I've missed burning your dinner," Betty wrapped her arms around his neck. "Most of all though, I missed just being with you like this."

She added. "I feel like we've wasted so much time."

"We'll make up for it. I promise. Besides, you had every right to be upset," said Daniel.

"I shut you out when what I really needed was you. I should never have made you go stay at your mom's." Betty said emotionally. "You weren't the only one that made a mistake, Daniel. I made a huge mistake too."

"I don't expect you to be perfect. You know I'm not….and you've always known that and yet, we are still here together now and we love each other." He ran his hand down her arm. "And I'm sure that things are just going to keep getting better for us."

"I know they are." Betty said happily. "In fact, I can guarantee it."

"Betty, you have no idea how proud I am of you. You are doing such an amazing job at Meade," said Daniel.

"I still feel lost. Everything I've accomplished I owe to you." Betty placed a kiss on his cheek. "I wouldn't have made it past the first week without your guidance."

"Well, it was the same during my first week at MODE. You were the only reason that didn't get fired."

"I guess we're even then." Betty giggled.

"I don't think I could actually ever pay you back for all the times you saved me, Betty. I owe you for the rest of my life," said Daniel.

"Okay. I think you might be right." Betty said playfully.

"Seriously though, I know you are going to do great things there. That's the reason that I gave those shares to you. When I lost my sight, I didn't want to see you give up all your dreams for me. Especially after the family thing…"

"I'm not giving up anything, Daniel. We are still going to have a family."

"Betty, I haven't changed my mind about that." He said gently. "I know that I threw it out there as a suggestion when I was trying to fix our problems. But a baby would only complicated everything that we were going through. Even, if we did have one, it wouldn't change how I feel about it."

"How do you feel about it, Daniel?"

"Like I would be a horrible father." Daniel knew that it was time to come completely clean about his feelings.

"That's crazy. You are an amazing father. You were great with DJ," said Betty. "There are lots of blind people who have families. It's not impossible." She said in a comforting tone. He was grateful that she didn't seem to be upset. The last thing he needed now was a fight.

He knew that he was being selfish. His decision was based on his own worries and fears. Daniel just didn't know how it would be possible to erase all those fears and charge ahead.

"I know. That's what Jack told me. I guess that more than anything, it terrifies me. What if something happens to the baby and I'm not able to help them?"

"Daniel, there are way to deal with that. You are still going to be an amazing father with or without your sight."

"What happens if I can never see my child? I won't even know what they look like," said Daniel.

"Just imagine the most beautiful child ever…and that is what they are going to look like." Betty placed her hand on his chest. "Plus, there is still hope that you will be able to see them someday. In fact, we could even pray that you get your sight back before we even have a baby. After all, it does take nine months."

"I know." Daniel felt the pain increase, as his heart started to race. "Betty, I just can't talk about this anymore. I just want to go lie down and hold you. I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Fine….but we aren't done talking about this. There is no way that I'm going to let you give up your dream of having family because you are scared. After all, you weren't going to let me give up my dreams. As your wife, I will not let you give up yours."

"We'll talk about it later. I promise." Daniel said reassuringly. He wasn't sure he would change his mind but he wanted to be able to have a rational discussion and try to get her to understand. "You know what….I think that I need that water, after all. Would you mind getting it for me?" Daniel asked her.

"Sure…are you sure you are okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." He reached for her hand, squeezing it. "And could you call mom and Jack for me and then we'll go to bed?"

Betty released his hand and got up from his lap. "Yes. I'll take care of that, as long as you can meet me in the bedroom."

"I can do that. It's still down the hall on the right." Daniel tried to ignore the pain. It was only getting worse though.

"Yes." Betty leaned over and kissed him. "I love you. I'll see you in a minute."

"I love you too." Daniel listened to Betty's footstep move further and further away.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Love is Blind **

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreciate them. Just a little warning, this chapter is very emotional._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty. I'm also not a doctor or medical professional. However, I am well acquainted with Dr. Google and Dr. Wikipedia. I tried to get as close to the facts as possible. _

* * *

**Chapter 28**

A few minutes ago, Betty was only seconds away from telling him about the baby. She quickly changed her mind about her approach through when the discussion took an unexpected turn, diving into Daniel's fears and worries about having a family.

Betty knew that it was important to that they get to the bottom of these feelings with a vital decision before she sprang the news on him. She needed to find a way to sooth his fears and assure him that no matter what happened with his sight. The most important thing their child would need would be love.

And if they had learned anything since the night of the accident, it was that sight was not needed to show someone that you love them.

Daniel was going to be an amazing father, no matter what the circumstances he was dealt. He just needed believe in himself, as much as she believed in him. Despite his worries, Betty knew in her heart that once Daniel learned about the existence of the baby, she knew that he would be happy.

True. A baby could complicate things. However, it could also be the thing to give Daniel some hope and a new point of view.

When they went to bed, she would try to talk to him again. Before the end of the night, she hoped that she would be able to tell him the truth about the pregnancy.

Betty took a deep breath and grabbed the bottle of water from the counter, before beginning her journey through the living room to the bedroom, where Daniel was supposed to meet her.

As she entered the room, she saw that Daniel was still on the couch, lying down.

"Daniel, I thought you were going to meet me in the bedroom." She stopped for a second. His state seemed far too still for her.

She stepped forward. Her heart beat was doubling by the second. "Daniel."

Even after her calling his name, he still remained still, causing Betty to drop the plastic water bottle on the floor and rush over to him. She knelt beside the couch.

"Daniel…." She shook him gently. "Daniel…honey."

He was breathing but unresponsive to her attempts to wake him. Betty knew that something was very wrong, as she jumped up and went to grab the phone to call 911.

Everything was a blur. From the moment she picked up the phone to call for help until the paramedics arrived. In those moments, Betty prayed harder than she ever had in her life that he would open his eyes and tell her that he was okay.

One the ride over, Betty didn't get her wish though. There was no change in his unconscious state. By this time, Betty had no doubt that something serious was going on. Otherwise, Daniel would be awake.

For the first hour, Betty sat in the waiting room alone. Then, Claire arrived, still dressed from the benefit that they were all supposed to go to tonight. Shortly after, her family arrived. As much as she wanted their family there, what she really wanted right now was a doctor…or even Daniel, himself…to come through the doors and tell her that he was going to be okay?

Betty could sit anymore though and she started to walk up and down the halls, waiting to hear about some news.

Claire approached her, as she stood by the window looking down that the cars that passed on the street. "Daniel is going to pull through this. It's going to be okay."

"Is it?" Betty couldn't get the horrific images out of her head of Daniel from the night of the accident and from earlier.

"Maybe no new is good news, Betty."

"Right now, I am having a hard time believing that. It's been almost two hours" Betty stared out the window. "I'm beginning to feel like fate doesn't want us to be together. There always seems to be something that gets in the way.

She added. "Daniel and I just started to figure things out again. Now, we are faced with another challenge. How am I supposed to believe that everything is going to be okay?"

Claire placed her hand on Betty's shoulder. "You have to believe it for you, Daniel and your baby."

Betty took a deep breath and wiped away the tears that were falling down her face. "I knew that something was wrong. Why didn't I just call someone? Or just took him to the hospital?"

"Did you tell him about the baby?" Claire asked.

"I never got to tell him about the baby. Now, I wish that I had," Betty rambled on. Her mind raced with so many questions and things that she wished that she could change. "Why did I have to try to be so cautious? I was so worried about him being mad at me for hiding it for so long. I would rather him be mad at me and know about the baby. What if I never get a chance to tell him?" Betty was falling apart. "I wasted so much time. I should have told him so long ago that I forgave him. I should have told him about the baby."

Betty should have known that Daniel was lying to her when he said he was fine. She should have insisted that he allow her to call someone. Had he pushed himself too much by helping her at Meade, when he should have been focusing on himself? What about the stress of the conversation about having a family? Not to mention, the stress that she had put on him in regards to their marriage.

"What if we never get a chance to have a happy life together? This is all my fault."

"Stop it!" Claire ordered calmly. Betty glanced over at her mother in law. "Betty, you can't do this to yourself. You can't afford to get stress out. It is not good for the baby. Daniel would want you to take care of yourself and the baby, before anything else."

Betty knew that Claire was right. "I know."

"Mrs. Meade…"

Betty looked up to see a doctor standing there before her. "Yes."

"I'm Dr. Riley."

"I'm Betty Meade and this is Daniel's mother, Claire Meade."

"Hello, Dr. Riley." Claire extended her hand to the doctor.

"Is Daniel okay?" Betty said quickly. Though she wanted all the details, she wanted to know first whether he was okay or not.

"I'm afraid that things are very serious." Dr. Riley spoke cautiously.

"What's wrong?" Betty's heart felt, as if it were going to stop beating.

"Mr. Meade has suffered from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm and we need to operate right away." The doctor said bluntly.

Betty's heart dropped. She didn't even need to ask. She knew that she was extremely serious. In fact, it was life threatening.

"What are risks of the surgery?" Claire asked. Betty was grateful that she was there because though she knew that she had a lot of questions. Suddenly, all the questions that she had in her mind was pointless because she was sure that she could actually speak.

"There are some risks that he could be disabled permanently. It happens in about 4 of 7 patients." The doctor said honestly. "However, there are some patients that do recover fully over time."

That was over 50%. Betty didn't like those odds at all. She couldn't imagine how Daniel would deal having more disabilities than just being blind. It had been hard enough for him to deal with that. Could he be able to deal with more?"

She could only help that Daniel would be in the percentage that fully recovered. There was some hope and that is what she had to focus on.

"What happens after the surgery?" Claire asked.

"We'll keep him in NSICU for two weeks to watch for any complications that may occur," said Dr. Riley.

"Okay. Do it." Betty placed her hand over her stomach, knowing that if they did nothing. Daniel would probably never come home and he would never have the chance to hold his son or daughter.

It was time for her to try to find a glimmer of optimism in this situation. She needed to focus on the things that really mattered right now. She needed to focus on taking care of herself and the baby. She needed to focus on getting Daniel through this, so that she could see the look on his face when he learned that his dream came true.

There was no time to think about the bad things that could happen like the disabilities that Daniel may have to live with or the fact that Daniel might not leave the hospital at all. She needed to be strong and pull them all through this.

After all that they have been through, it was not time to give up on living a long and happy life together. It was time to keep time to keep fighting and focus on their future.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Love is Blind **

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreciate them. This chapter has Daniel's thoughts and dialogue from Betty._

* * *

**Chapter 29**

Daniel had always heard that it was good for visitors to talk to coma patients because there was a good chance that the patient could hear the things that were said to them. Now, Daniel knew from personal experience that it was the truth.

Of course, he couldn't remember everything from the past three months. He remembered enough those. In that time, he had become accustom to the daily ramblings and the constant parade of doctors, nurses and visitors that filtered in and out of his hospital room.

From conversations about his condition to his mother nagging Betty that she needed to take better care of herself, he felt like he was on the same emotion roller coaster that they were. From helplessness to hopefulness, he knew that he was in for the ride of his life.

Or more accurately, the fight of his life.

There was one thing that he became aware of almost immediately and that was that his condition was extremely serious. There had been a series of complications. In fact, there was a point when the doctors had told Betty that there was a good chance that he wouldn't make it. Alexis and DJ flew in from France, when it was expected that he wouldn't make it through the day.

He did though. He proved them wrong and he was still here.

Daniel wasn't ready to let go of this life yet. Sight or no sight, he wanted to be with Betty. He felt so empty without her. If he were to go now, the sound of her tears would haunt him for eternity and become his own personal hell.

They had barely had any time together. Why did Betty have to go back upstairs to get her purse the night of the accident? If she had stayed with him, Molly never would have done what she did and Betty never would have run away and into the path of that car.

A split second decision had changed their life. Daniel tried to image what their life would have been like if she hadn't left his side that night. They would have been off to St. Bart's for two whole weeks of romance. A trip that Daniel knew would have cemented their happily ever after.

That was not their reality though but somehow, Daniel was still determined to get that happily ever after for her. Her tears just made him want to fight harder to come back and give her the life that he promised when he married her.

God. He had so many things to make up to her and he had way too much unfinished business to leave this life.

Though, he loved the times when his mother, Alexis, DJ, Becks and Betty's family came to visit. He always looked forward to the part of the day when his Betty would come to spent time with him.

Every day, she would give him a sponge bath, make sure he was comfortable and then she would settle into the chair beside his bed, where she would hold his hand and tell him about her day at Meade Publications. It didn't even matter what it was about, usually it was about her meetings, about Wilhelmina terrorizing the new interns and all the latest gossip from the MODE grapevine that Amanda delivered to her each morning.

During their one-sided conversation, he had come to understand more about how much he had hurt her when she found him with Molly and how much he hurt her when he told her that he didn't want a family. She also told him that despite his mistakes that she loved him and always would.

"Daniel, you have to keep fighting." Betty told him. He could tell with each day that passed that she was having a difficult time maintaining a positive outlook. "You have to fight for us. We are waiting for you to come back."

She lightly brushed the top of his hand. "They are going to try to bring you out of this coma starting tomorrow. I have to admit that as much as I want them to bring you back to me. I'm also terrified." Her voice shook with emotion, as she fought to keep from crying. "Because they've told me that I need to prepare myself for the worst."

How he wished that he could reach out and pull her into his arms right now. He knew that if that was possible that there was no way that he would ever let go of her again.

"You were only supposed to be like this for 14 days. It's been three months now," said Betty. "I'm trying to stay positive like you would want me too. I refuse to believe any other reality than one that includes you coming home someday soon. So…I'm telling you now, I'm planning for the future and counting the days until I have you home again."

She paused for a moment. "I've done some redecorating around the loft. I got rid of that horrible mural on the wall. I really wish you hadn't replaced it after the fire that Renée started. What were you thinking? That thing give me the creeps, so as your wife , I made the executive decision that it had to go."

She giggled. "I think it will probably help when we decide to sell. I'm thinking that next year we should probably get a bigger place to live because we are going to need the extra space soon.

_Why did they need a bigger place? It was just the two of them. _

"You are probably wondering why we need the space. After all, it's just the two of us. Well, the fact is….that I'm pregnant." Betty took a deep breath. "It feels good to say it out loud. I'm been holding it in for so long, Daniel."

"You are probably thinking that it's impossible since we haven't been together in months…since before we left Chicago. Well, I'm almost six months pregnant. I probably got pregnant right after the wedding. So…by the time, you said that you didn't want a family. It was pretty pointless because I was already pointless."

.He heard Betty rise from her seat and reach for his hand, lifting it up until it was flat against her stomach. "If you can hear me, Daniel, I want you to know that you have every right to be furious with me for keeping this from you. But your son needs you to pull through this. If you don't come back for me, you have to do it for him. He needs you. He needs his father."

Betty continued to hold his hand in place and it had to be his imagination but he could have sworn that he felt something that could be a kick.

"Oh. Daniel! Did you feel that? That's your son."

Daniel couldn't believe how happy he was to feel that. The one thing that he thought he didn't want filled him with even more determination that he would overcome the obstacles that were before him.

"Daniel, you're smiling. You understand what I'm saying?" Betty said hopefully. "You do, don't you?"

He wanted to tell her yes. He wanted to do something else to show her that he had gotten the message. He felt the baby again.

"Of course, you can't understand me." Betty said sadly, as she placed his hand back down on the bed. "They say that you can probably hear me and you have no idea how much I want to believe that. I guess that's why I keep going on and on every day, just hoping that you will hear me."

Why did she have to take his hand away? Daniel was so frustrated now. He just wanted to touch her and feel their active little guy. He was the proof that their love could overcome everything.

"It's okay. I know that you are going to wake up soon and as soon as you do. I'll tell you again. And I'll convince you that this baby is the best thing that ever happened to us." Betty said convincingly. "So, you better wake up soon because if you don't then I'm just going to be forced to do something that I know you would probably hate."

"I'll name our son Bradford." She said jokingly. Daniel was ready to jump out of that bed that second. There was no way that he wanted his son to have that name.

"Oh….or how about Wilbur? Or Henry?" She continued in trying to lighten the mood for herself. He knew her well enough to know that she was not serious. "Oh…or I could name him Ignacio, after my dad."

As she continued to rattle on with the ridiculous list of names, he already knew what he wanted to name his son. And as soon as he woke up, he would tell her.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Love is Blind**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreciate them. There will be one more chapter of this story. The epilogue._

* * *

**Chapter 30**

For the next two days and nights, Betty refused to leave Daniel's bedside. She cancelled her meetings until further notice. It even got to the point where it took both Hilda and Claire bringing food to her to get her to eat because she refused to leave his side for a few minutes to eat. Betty was terrified that in those few minutes that he could slip away from her.

Though Daniel's doctors were encouraged with his progress, they still warned her that anything was possible. Regardless, she tried to keep up a positive attitude. She continued to care for him, just as she did for the past three months.

Bathing him, caring for him, making sure he was comfortable and talking to him daily made Betty closer to Daniel, even if the conversation was one-sided. With each day that he had been in this hospital bed, Betty tried not to dwell on mistakes that she and Daniel had made and focus on the future that she hoped for. The future that she hoped included both of them raising their son.

Betty pulled up the blanket on Daniel and sighed.

"Daniel, if you don't get out of this bed soon, I'm going to quit my job at Meade and go to nursing school." Betty looked down at her swollen stomach and took a deep breath. "Well, after I have this baby anyway."

"Beautiful…Betty." Betty looked up and saw Daniel's tearful eyes.

"Oh…oh…Daniel! You're awake." Betty's heart jumped. "I…I…I have to get the doctor."

"No. Not yet. I just wanted to look at you, Betty."

"Look? Daniel, can you see?" Betty felt tears form in her eyes.

Daniel nodded. "Oh…yeah and you are the most beautiful thing that I ever laid my eyes on." His voice was weak.

Betty felt the tears rushing to her eyes. This was unbelievable. It was like every hope, every prayer and every wish that had come true. Not only was Daniel alive, he was awake and he could see.

He could see her.

Before Betty could gather her words, there were nurses and doctors surrounding them, asking her to move aside. She compiled with their request and stepped away. As she sat down in the corner chair, Daniel's eyes barely left her, as the doctor tried to look at him.

"What's going on?" Claire rushed into the room from the waiting room down the hall. She approached Betty quickly.

"He's awake." Tears streamed down Betty's face, as she looked at her mother in law. Claire's head practically spun around, as she looked over at Daniel, who was looking right at both of them.

"That's wonderful," said Claire emotionally.

"And he can see." Betty said gratefully.

"Really?"

"Yes…" Betty nodded.

Right now, Betty knew that as happy as this moment was. It didn't mean that Daniel wasn't going to have any challenges ahead of him. However, she was determined to focus on the fact she would rather they deal with whatever lied ahead together than not have him at all.

Once the doctor and nurses were done examining Daniel, they had determined that he may still have some therapy ahead of him. Otherwise, he seemed to be doing very well, considering all that he had been through in the past months.

Claire spent a little time with Daniel, telling him that she would come back in the morning and that she would call everyone and them the amazing news. It was clear that Claire wanted to give the private time.

"Daniel, you should close your eyes and get some rest." Betty pointed out, as she sat in the chair beside his bed.

"That's all I've done for months." Daniel turned his head towards her. A smile on his face that Betty knew she would never forget. Though she could see that he was weak, she could also see that he was happier than she had ever seen him. "I just want to look at you now."

Betty knew she looked horrible. After all, she hadn't left the hospital in two days. She probably had bags under her eyes. Not to mention, the weight that she had put on from the pregnancy. "I look terrible."

She realized that he hadn't actually seen her since the night of the accident when he lost his sight. Since then, she had changed a lot. In that time, she had her braces removed and her hair cut.

"No way. You look beautiful." Daniel said happily. He gazed directly at her stomach. "So...we're having a baby?"

Betty placed her hand protectively, wondering what's going through Daniel's mind and whether or not, he was going to be angry that she never told him about the baby. She was ready to listen to anything he had to say and then they could work towards a solution.

"Yeah." She said softly.

"I can't believe it." Daniel said, as he stared at her stomach.

"Listen, I want you to know that I didn't try to trick you. It was as unexpected for me, as it was for you. I didn't plan on getting pre…"

"I'm glad you are." Daniel cut in. "Really. It's amazing."

"But you said that you didn't want a family…"

"Well, I'm just glad that fate had other ideas for us." Daniel grinned. "I'm thrilled that we are going to have a son."

"You…you heard me?" In an instant, Betty was crying again. "All the times that I talked to you."

"I know it sounds crazy but I did," said Daniel. "And it gave me a reason to fight every harder to come back. I wanted to be with the both of you. Leaving you now was just not an option."

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. First, I was mad…and then I was…"

"Betty, it's okay." He stopped her again. "We've both made mistakes. I just want us to learn from them and move forward and have the happy life that we both deserve….our chance at happily ever after."

"That's what I want too." Betty agreed.

Daniel gestured for her to come closer. "Come here on the bed."

"Daniel, I don't think they are going to want me in bed with you in ICU." Betty looked around.

"No…just come here, please." Daniel asked calmly. Betty rose from her chair and moved closer, sitting on the edge of the bed. He reached out and placed his hand on her swollen stomach. "I have so much to be thankful for."

"We do." Betty knew that things could be far worse. They needed to be grateful for every single thing.

"Will you marry me?" Daniel's eye glanced up at her.

"We are married already." She placed her left hand over his hand, that was still resting on her stomach.

"As soon as I get out of this hospital, I want to marry you again. I want to look into your eyes this time when I tell you that there is no one else that I want to spend the rest of my life with." Daniel said sincerely. "And then after the baby is born, I'm going to take you to St. Bart's like we planned."

"Daniel, you still have a few obstacles to overcome. We shouldn't make any big plans."

"I don't care. I'll do it. I'm not going to let anything get in my way of living and enjoying every moment with my family…and giving our little one, lots of siblings."

"Daniel, I think we should just focus on this one right now."

"Michael is not going to be an only child. I can guarantee that." Daniel said with a burst of determination that thrilled her to see in Daniel.

Betty giggled. "Michael?"

"That's what we are naming him. There is no way that I'm letting you name him Wilbur or Henry…or Matthew. And since Daniel Jr. is out of the question. Michael is my next choice."

"Okay…" Betty wasn't going to argue with him. She was going to let him name his son whatever he wanted.

"I also thought about Nicholas…or Brian…but I guess we can save those for next time. Unless we have a girl…"

"Daniel…" Betty stood her head.

"What? There is going to be a next time." He grinned.

"Whatever you want, just get some rest. If I know your mother, she will be here early in the morning and she will be mad at me, if I kept you up all night."

"Let me deal with my mother. I've got a lot of time to make up for with my wife and baby," said Daniel. "And I don't plan on missing out on a second."

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Love is Blind- Epilogue**

_Author's Note: Here is a short epilogue. Thank you for all your feedback and comments. I appreciate all of them. I will be starting a new story soon. _

**One Year Later**

For most of Daniel's life, he had been nothing but a screw up. He had made one mistake after another, never learning anything from the mistakes of his past. If anyone asked him now, Daniel would tell anyone that he didn't deserve anything he had today. He only deserved to be alone and unhappy.

It was because of one woman that everything changed. Though, they had their rough spots in both their professional and personal lives together. They had managed to weather the storm together and now they were stronger than ever because of the trials they had survived.

Betty had seen him through some of the worst moments in his life. She stayed beside him when she was terrified that he wouldn't make it through the night. She guided him when he couldn't see. She loved him through all of it. She even loved him despite all the pain he had caused her. She was the light of his life and on the day that he woke up from the coma, he promised Betty that he would spend the rest of his life, giving her the life that she deserved.

And what a life it had been over the past year.

A few months after waking up from his coma, Daniel was well on his way to a full recovery and already back behind his desk at MODE part time. Betty had also stepped down from her position at Meade to focus on her writing, enjoy their life together and prepare for the arrival of their baby.

In those months, he and Betty also renewed their wedding vows with all of their family and friends present this time. Though, he was able to see photos of their first wedding, there was just something about seeing Betty with his own eyes, coming down the aisle towards him, that left an imprint on Daniel's heart forever.

Now, here they were in St. Bart's for two whole weeks. Right where, they should have begun their lives together. Daniel opened his eyes and gazed out across the clear blue tranquil water. The view from their suite was spectacular. However, it could never compare in Daniel's eyes to the sleeping eight month old child that was nuzzled up against his chest.

It was the best gift that anyone had ever given him. It was hard to imagine that there was even a time when Daniel said he didn't want this. Now, he didn't know how he could have made it without the little girl that he held tight in his arms.

_Yes. A baby girl_

Little Michael turned out to be a Michelle. A brown hair, blue-eyed bundle of energy that had Betty's smile.

As Daniel glanced over to the chair beside him, there Betty sat with her book in hand with her hand on her stomach. Their new addition to their family was due in seven months, waiting to be born. Perhaps, Daniel would get his boy this time.

If not, he knew they would try until they got it right.

Life was just going to get better and better for them because he knew what he had and he was no longer blind to the love that surrounded him.

**THE END.**


End file.
